 Tefé, also called Ega at one time, was the fourth of eight "aldeias" founded by Carmelite missionaries between 1697 and 1751 along the Solimões and Negro Rivers.In 1759 the commandant Joaquim de Mello da Povoas converted the Carmelite 
mission on Lake Tefé into a town, which he named Ega; it was elevated to a city named Tefé in 1855 (but was known as Tefé before that time).The mission, called Parauarí, was originally established on Ilha dos Veados three leagues from the location on the opposite shore of Lake Tefe, called today by the name of Nogueira.