Maracaibo, city, northwestern Venezuela, capital of Zulia State, the chief seaport and industrial center for the petroleum-rich Maracaibo Basin. The city is located on the western shore of a channel linking Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela (an arm of the Caribbean Sea). It is a major petroleum-shipping center and has industries producing refined petroleum, processed food, textiles, and construction materials. A large metropolitan area with extensive barrios (shantytowns) surrounds the central city. The University of Zulia (1891), Rafael Urdaneta University (1973), and a museum of military history are here.
The city was founded as Nueva Zamora by Spain in 1571 and retains a large quarter dating from the Spanish colonial period. The city prospered in the 17th century, when it was attacked several times by pirates, and then declined until petroleum was discovered nearby in 1917. Population (1991) 1,207,513.
