Yapacaní

Villa Yapacaní Yapacaní
Country	Bolivia
Department	Santa Cruz
Province	Ichilo
Founded	August 23, 1953
Elevation	296 m (971 ft)
Population  (2012)
• Total	26,270
Time zone	UTC-4
Climate	Am

Yapacaní (or Villa Yapacaní) is the largest town in the province of Ichilo in the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz. It lies on the west bank of the Yapacani River, at the mouth of the Surutú River, 100 km north-west of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the largest city in Bolivia. It is the centre of the district of Yapacaní Municipio. Prior to its foundation on 23 August 1953, there was a military post called El Comando.

In the last two decades the town's population has risen from 8,585 inhabitants (census 1992), to 14,665 (census 2001), to 26,270 inhabitants (2012 estimate).

Transportation

The town has a four lane road through its center, which was re-surfaced and stop lights were installed in 2010. Transportation in Yapacani is dominated by motorcycles, truffies, and Micro-buses. Motorcycle taxis operate the streets of the town allowing one to arrive from one place to another for about 2 Bolivianos. Travel between towns is usually done in truffies which are cars operated by collectives. A trip to Santa Cruz is 20 Bolivianos, to Montero 10 Bolivianos, Santa Fe 2 Bolivianos, San Juan de Yapacani 4 Bolivianos, and Bulo Bulo 11 Bolivianos. One bus leaves from Yapacani direct to Cochabamba.

Economy

The small villages surrounding Yapacani produce rice, cane sugar, manderine oranges, and other products. Rice is by far the largest crop produced and provides income to many small communities that lie to the north of town. These communities are accessed by a road called "Faja Norte" where a two Boliviano fee is charged to enter. This road makes a loop from Yapacani north-west later re-joining the main Santa Cruz-Cochabamba road near the community of Ichilo. The road is almost entirely gravel and sometimes becomes difficult to navigate in the rainy season. The towns along the Faja Norte that produce rice from nearest to farthest from Yapacani are: Km 7,Villa Imperial (Km 23), El Comandito (Km 35), Km 48, Challavito, and Cascabel. A natural gas compound exists at the north end of the loop where there are two communities called Los Pozos and Patajusal.

Natural Events

The town is located on a zone of land between the Andean plateau and the Brazilian shield. It is normally not seismically active but has a potential for earthquakes. The most recent seismic activity in the area occurred on the morning of January 23, 2010 when an Earthquake of magnitude 5.3 occurred 10 miles southeast of the town. No injuries or damage were recorded in the town center.