Lobito

Sister cities

• Seixal
• Sintra

History

The city was founded in 1843 and owes its existence to the bay of the same name having been chosen as the sea terminus of the Benguela railway to the far interior, passing through Luau to Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The population of the municipality is 393,079 (2014) in an area of 3,648 km2. The municipality consists of the communes Canjala, Egipto Praia and Lobito. Lobito, was built on a sandspit and reclaimed land, with one of Africa's finest natural harbours, protected by a 5 km long sandspit. The old municipality (concelho) was created in 1843 by the Portuguese administration. The town was also founded in 1843 by order of Maria II of Portugal, and its harbour works were begun in 1903. It wasn't until 1843 that Maria II of Portugal approved the foundation of the town, which had by then been known as Catumbela das Ostras (Catumbela of Oysters) Large developments, however, were not stimulated until the completion in 1928 of the important Benguela Railway, which connected Portuguese Angola with the Belgian Congo. Under Portuguese rule, the port was one of Angola's busiest, and the busiest of Africa, exporting agricultural produce from the interior and handling transit trade from the mines of southeastern Belgian Congo and of Northern Rhodesia. Fishing, tourism and services were also important. The carnival in Lobito was also one of the most renowned and popular in Portuguese Angola. After the 25 April 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, Angola was offered independence. Lobito's port activities were highly limited by disruptions to railway transit and high insecurity during the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002). With peace and stability, in the 2000s, Lobito started the process of…

Most-observed species

• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  35
• Eurasian Moorhen

  Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  31
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  29
• Cape Teal

  Anas capensis J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  28
• African Darter

  Anhinga rufa (Daudin, 1802) · Aves
  26
• Common Sandpiper

  Actitis hypoleucos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23
• Long-tailed Cormorant

  Microcarbo africanus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  23
• Laughing Dove

  Spilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  23