Colón Department (Cordoba)

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Location of the department of Colón in the province of Cordoba

The department of Colón is located in the north of the province of Córdoba in central Argentina and is one of the province's 26 administrative units. It has an area of ​​2,588 square kilometers and 172,779 inhabitants ( INDEC estimate for 2005). The capital is Jesús María .

The department belongs to the catchment area of ​​the city of Córdoba , the south is part of the Gran Córdoba agglomeration .

geography

The western border of the department lies along the main ridge of the Sierra Chica , the easternmost mountain range of the Sierras de Córdoba . The eastern two thirds of the department are flatlands, geographically they belong to the Gran Chaco . The climate is subtropical with very warm, humid summers and mild, very dry winters.

population

Most of the population is concentrated in the south of the department, which is part of the urban area of ​​the city of Cordoba . In particular, the Sierras Chicas region in the south-west is very densely populated with around 120,000 inhabitants and for the most part continuously built up, here are fast-growing cities such as La Calera , Villa Allende , Unquillo and Río Ceballos . The east of the department, on the other hand, is only sparsely populated, apart from Malvinas Argentinas , which is directly adjacent to Córdoba . The only other important center is the departmental capital Jesús María in the north.

Cities

According to the 2001 census by the INDEC statistical office , the following are the municipios (larger communities with more than 2,000 inhabitants) of the department:

  • Jesús María (26,825 inhabitants), the capital in the north of the department, 45 km north of Córdoba
  • La Calera (24,796 inhabitants), fast growing suburb of Córdoba
  • Villa Allende (21,683 inhabitants), affluent suburb of Cordoba
  • Río Ceballos (16,632 inhabitants), mountain suburb of Cordoba and tourist center
  • Unquillo (15,369 inhabitants), suburb of Córdoba
  • Colonia Caroya (13,806 inhabitants), former Italian colony, suburb of Jesús María
  • Malvinas Argentinas (8,628 inhabitants), poor working class suburb of Cordoba
  • Salsipuedes (6,411 inhabitants), a mountain suburb of Cordoba near Río Ceballos, tourist center
  • Villa El Fachinal (4,939 inhabitants), informal settlement on the outskirts of Córdoba
  • Mendiolaza (4,204 inhabitants), suburb of Córdoba
  • Estación Juárez Celman (3,941 inhabitants), informal settlement on the outskirts of Córdoba
  • Saldán (2,099 inhabitants), a small suburb of Cordoba

There are also 20 smaller towns, so-called comunas .

Due to the high population growth of the periphery of Córdoba, it is estimated that today La Calera is the largest city in the department with around 35,000 inhabitants.

economy

The department's economy is diverse. Agriculture is practiced in the vicinity of the capital Jesús María and the suburb Colonia Caroya, the twin city is the seat of many agro-industrial companies. In the southern part, near Córdoba, industry and trade dominate. Tourism is also important in the Sierras Chicas region.

Coordinates: 31 ° 6 ′  S , 64 ° 6 ′  W