Rondônia

Rondonia is a state in the western Amazon region of Brazil, bordering Bolivia, that has been at the frontier of Amazon settlement and development. Its capital is Porto Velho, on the Madeira River. Once a remote rubber and mining territory, it became a focus of rapid agricultural expansion.

Rondonia lies in the southwestern Amazon basin, originally covered in dense rainforest now interspersed with farmland and pasture. The Madeira River, a major Amazon tributary, flows through it. The climate is hot and humid equatorial.

The state's culture blends Indigenous Amazonian peoples, migrants from across Brazil who settled during development drives, and a riverine and frontier way of life. It is a meeting point of many regional influences.

Developed around the building of the Madeira-Mamore railway and rubber extraction, the territory saw waves of migration and became a state in 1981. It has been central to debates over Amazon deforestation and conservation.