Punto Fijo

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For the Pact, see Punto Fijo Pact.

Punto Fijo is the largest city in the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón, Venezuela. Punto Fijo is located on the northern shores of the Venezuelan state of Falcón. The city is government seat of the municipality of Carirubana, with a population well over 200,000. One of the world's largest oil refinery complexes, the Centro de Refinación de Paraguaná, is located there.

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[edit] History

Punto Fijo was founded in the early 1950s, on the outskirts of two refinery operations established by Standard Oil and Shell during the 1940s. It has an estimated population of 270,000 (est. 2002 census) mostly in the urban center.

Its name is commonly attributed to the late Rafael González Estaba, former city historian, who said that the place where the city now stands was a common stop (the "fixed point") for passers-by and fishermen.

[edit] Transportation

Punto Fijo is crisscrossed from north to south and east to west by numerous avenues. A new bus terminal is under construction and expected to be ready by mid 2008. The city is linked to Coro with a modern two-laned highway passing through the whole isthmus offering great views of the National Park Medanos de Coro as well as the whole arid flora found in the region. The city is served by Josefa Camejo International Airport.

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