CÃÂ Mau () is a former city in southern Vietnam. It is the capital of CÃÂ Mau province, a province in the Mekong Delta region, in the southernmost part of Vietnam's inland territory (mainland). The city is characterised by its system of transport canals, and most goods are transported there by boats and barges.
The population is approximately 226,372 as of 2019. CàMau is accessible by road (360 km south-west of Ho Chi Minh City) via National Route 1 or by air (CàMau Airport). The city is administratively subdivided into eight urban phðá»Âng (ward) and seven rural xã (commune).
CÃÂ Mau is Vietnam's biggest exporter of shrimp and prawns. In 2005, CÃÂ Mau province alone exported about $500 million of shrimp and prawns. A large petroleum project under construction, the CÃÂ Mau Gas-Power-Fertilizer Complex, is valued at $1.4 billion. It includes:
The project opened in December 2008.
CàMau has several attractions that draw domestic and international tourists. These include several wild bird parks, the southernmost point in Vietnam (called Mà ©i CàMau), and a number of pagodas. Near CàMau is the U Minh area with its famous mangrove forest and swamp cuisine: fish hot pots, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Khmer cuisines. CàMau also has several 1- to 3-star hotel restaurants.
During the 1st millennium, the region of the present CàMau province was part of the Kingdom of Funan (Vietnamese: Phù Nam), which included Laos, Cambodia, parts of eastern Thailand, and southern Vietnam (Vietnamese: Nam Bá»Â). This region was later conquered by the kingdom of Chenla (Vietnamese: Chân Lạp) and the Khmer Empire. In 1757, the land belonging to CàMau province (, "the black land") was ceded by the Khmer king to the Nguyá» n lord of ÃÂàng Trong (central Vietnam) with an early settlement of Vietnamese people. During French rule, CàMau was only a small town. During the Republic of Vietnam, the area nearby CàMau was a stronghold (Vietnamese: Chiến khu cách mạng) for the Viá»Ât Cá»Âng, a Hanoi-backed guerrilla group fighting the United States Army and the South Vietnamese government during the Vietnam War. After 1975, CàMau was made the administrative seat and the governmental center of Minh Hải province, which included CàMau and Bạc Liêu province. In 1995, CàMau province broke off from Minh Hải province with CàMau as its capital. In 1999, the prime minister by a decree recognised CàMau as a borough (Vietnamese: Thá» xã) â CàMau Borough (3rd class urban area as per Vietnamese law). In 2010, the Prime Minister further upgraded City of CàMau to a 2nd class urban area.
CÃÂ Mau is served by CÃÂ Mau Airport.
The majority of its residents is ethnic Vietnamese, in addition to 300 Khmer Krom households and 400 Hoa households.
CÃÂ Mau has a tropical monsoon climate with a lengthy wet season and a relatively brief dry season. The wet season lasts from April to December, and the greatest rainfall occurs in August with . The dry season lasts from January to March, the driest month being February with an average of . Temperatures are high year round, but rise noticeably before the arrival of the monsoons in April.