Mabaruma is the administrative centre for Region One (Barima-Waini

Barima-Waini

Barima-Waini is a region of Essequibo, Guyana, a territory in dispute by Guyana and Venezuela, located in the northwest of the country. It covers an area of 20,339 km²...

) of Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

. It is located close to the Aruka River (the Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n border) on a narrow plateau above the surrounding rainforest at an altitude of 13 metres.

It replaced Morawhanna as the regional capital after the former was deemed at risk from flooding. There is a government guest house in the town.

Mabaruma contains the region's first secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

, North West Secondary School

North West Secondary School

North West Secondary School is a secondary school in Mabaruma, in the Barima-Waini region in northern Guyana. It was established in 1965, and was the only secondary school in the region until Santa Rosa school was set up in 1992. Students from all different areas enters this school each year. There...

, established in 1965.