Amazonas Department

Amazonas (Spanish pronunciation: [amaˈsonas]) is a department of Southern Colombia in the south of the country. It is the largest department in area while also having the 3rd smallest population. Its capital is Leticia and its name comes from the Amazon River, which drains the department.

For the department in Peru, see Amazonas Department, Peru.
Department of Amazonas
Departamento del Amazonas
Department
Flag of Department of Amazonas
Flag
Coat of arms of Department of Amazonas
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Entre todos podemos
(Spanish: All together we can)
Anthem: Himno de Amazonas
Amazonas shown in red
Amazonas shown in red
Topography of the department
Topography of the department
Country Colombia
RegionAmazonía Region
EstablishedOctober 5, 1991
CapitalLeticia
Government
 • GovernorJesús Galdino Cedeño (2020-present)[1][2]
Area
[3]
 • Total109,665 km2 (42,342 sq mi)
 • Rank1st
Population
 (2018)[4]
 • Total76,589
 • Rank30th
 • Density0.70/km2 (1.8/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-05
ISO 3166 codeCO-AMA
HDI (2019)0.717[5]
high · 26th of 33
Websitewww.amazonas.gov.co

Toponymy

The department name comes from the name of the Amazon River. The river was named by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana (1511 - 1546), who, on his voyage of exploration, said he was attacked by "fierce females" looked like Amazons of the Greek mythology, however, the existence of a female warrior tribe in that time hasn't been demonstrated and it is possible that they were long-haired Native American warriors who impressed the conqueror who called the jungle and the river with the name of Amazon.

Demographics

The following ethnic groups are found in the department: Bora, Cocama, Macuna, Mirana, Okaina, Ticunas, Tucano, Uitoto, Yagua, and Yucuna, among others. These groups are more than 5,000 years old.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1938 6,414—    
1951 7,619+18.8%
1964 12,962+70.1%
1973 15,677+20.9%
1985 39,937+154.7%
1993 56,399+41.2%
2005 67,726+20.1%
2018 76,589+13.1%
Source:[6]

National parks
Amazonas shore.

The Amazonas Department covers 109,665 km2 (42,342 sq mi) of protected area, most of it under the name of "forest reserve" since 1959. There are currently four "National Parks" (Amacayacú, Cahuinarí, Rio Puree, and Yagoje Apaporis).

Municipalities and communities
  1. El Encanto
  2. La Chorrera
  3. La Pedrera
  4. La Victoria
  5. Leticia
  6. Mirití-Paraná
  7. Puerto Alegría
  8. Puerto Arica
  9. Puerto Nariño
  10. Puerto Santander
  11. Tarapacá
Municipalities of Amazonas

See also

References
  1. "Statement of Financial Position March 2021" (PDF). Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  2. Espectador, El (2021-05-22). "ELESPECTADOR.COM". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish).
  3. "Nuestro Departamento: Información general: Geografía". Gobernación del Amazonas. Archived from the original on 2012-06-29.
  4. "DANE". Archived from the original on November 13, 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  5. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  6. "Reloj de Población". DANE. Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadísitica. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2020.

1°30′S 71°30′W

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