Maracaibo

Maracaibo (pop. 1,152,000), city in northwestern Venezuela. Located on the shore of Lake Maracaibo, it is the capital of the state of Zulia and the hub of the nation's petroleum industry. Maracaibo was founded by the Spanish in 1571 and experienced a population boom after the discovery of oil in the lake in 1912. It is also a major coffee and seafood exporting port.