Oruro (ōr
`rō), city (1992 pop. 183,422), capital of Oruro dept., W Bolivia. It is Bolivia's railroad center. Oruro's economy is based on exploitation of the region's tin, tungsten, and copper. Because of the altitude (12,146 ft/3,702 m), agriculture is almost nonexistent. Oruro was founded in 1595 to exploit the rich silver deposits nearby. When silver production declined in the 19th cent., it became almost a ghost town. It expanded with the development of other mineral resources.
Oruro
Oruro
`rō), city (1992 pop. 183,422), capital of Oruro dept., W Bolivia. It is Bolivia's railroad center. Oruro's economy is based on exploitation of the region's tin, tungsten, and copper. Because of the altitude (12,146 ft/3,702 m), agriculture is almost nonexistent. Oruro was founded in 1595 to exploit the rich silver deposits nearby. When silver production declined in the 19th cent., it became almost a ghost town. It expanded with the development of other mineral resources.Oruro
a city in W Bolivia: a former silver-mining centre; university (1892); tin, copper, and tungsten. Pop.: 206 000 (2005 est.)
Oruro
a city in southwestern Bolivia. Located in the Andes at an elevation of 3,700 m. Capital of Oruro department. Population, 119,700 (1970).
Oruro is a railroad and highway junction and is linked by rail with the Chilean ports of Antofagasta and Arica. A major center for the mining industry and nonferrous metallurgy, it has small food-processing and light-industry enterprises, as well as railroad repair shops. Tin, tungsten, and copper are mined in the area, and there is a plant producing refined tin in the nearby city of Vinto. Oruro also has a university.
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