La Guajira

La Guajira

Data
Capital	Riohacha
governor	Oneida Rayeth Pinto Pérez (2016-2019)
surface	20,848 km²
Population  (Total)  - 2005 Census  -  Population Density	681,575  33 inhabitants / km²
urbanization	64%
Literacy rate	83.1%
Number of parishes	15th
Popular name	guajiro
Important cities	Maicao , Manaure , Uribia , San Juan del Cesar
map
Location of La Guajira in Colombia

La Guajira is a department in the extreme northeast of Colombia . It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, north and east . To the southeast lies Venezuela , in the south the Department Cesar and in the southwest, the Departamento Magdalena .

Little agriculture is practiced in the arid province . There are rice , yuca , sorghum and sesame grown. Industry plays a subordinate role. In terms of natural resources, coal and natural gas are worth mentioning. The largest open pit coal mine in Latin America, El Cerrejón , is located in La Guajira. Fishing and salt extraction facilities on the coast are less important.

geography

The province is located east or northeast of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast . The mostly flat topography after the end of the eastern foothills is traversed by numerous short but water-rich rivers. The northern part of the province on the Guajira Peninsula has an arid climate ; in the far north-west there is even a real desert in the region of Cabo de la Vela .

The flat and arid regions of the province are often hit by floods. Large areas of land are often completely flooded during the rainy season.

The peninsula of the same name, which makes up a large part of the area of ​​the province, lies to a small extent on Venezuelan territory.

There are currently three national parks in the province: The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (383,000 ha) with the highest mountains in Colombia, the Santuario de Fauna y Flora los Flamencos (7,682 ha), one of the world's most impressive habitats of red flamingos , as well Macuira National Park (25,000 ha), a mountain rainforest in the almost uninhabited northeast of the province.

history

The name "La Guajira" is derived from the name of one of the Indian ethnic groups living there, the Wayúu people . In addition to the Arhuacos , the Wayúu formed the population of the region before the arrival of the Spaniards. Due to the exposed location directly on the Caribbean coast, the province was discovered or developed very early in Europe. The capital Riohacha is one of the earliest Spanish cities to be founded on the South American mainland.

In 1498 the expedition of Alonso de Ojeda circled the Guajira peninsula. A first landing was made by Juan de la Cosa , and a first settlement was established on Cabo de la Vela. In 1536 the later capital Riohacha was founded by Nikolaus Federmann, the representative of the Welser in Latin America .

The Spaniards met the Tairona civilization in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region . The so-called Ciudad Perdida is one of the most important archaeological open-air monuments in South America, comparable to Machu Picchu or the extensive ruins of Chan Chan .

colonization

In addition to the capital Riohacha, the province has only one other larger city, Maicao , located on the Venezuelan border .

Otherwise the population structure is very rural. On the Caribbean coast , fishing villages determine the picture, in the interior there are numerous individual farms and buildings.

The Indian minority, of which the most numerous tribe are the Wayúu , is of considerable importance within the province .

Administrative division

The Departamento de la Guajira consists of 15 municipalities ( Municipio ). All municipalities are listed below with their total number of inhabitants from the census of the Colombian statistical office DANE from 2005, extrapolated for the year 2018.

local community	Population 2018
Albania	28,044
Barrancas	36,862
Dibulla	36,636
Distracción	16,799
El Molino	9,037
Fonseca	34,762
Hatonuevo	27,721
La Jagua del Pilar	3,308
Maicao	164.424
Manaurs	116,248
Riohacha	286.973
San Juan del Cesar	38,900
Uribia	192.721
Urumita	19,214
Villanueva	28,508

Infrastructure

The provincial road network is well developed. The two main roads, the streets of Santa Marta and Valledupar, are paved and in good condition. The Maicao border crossing with road connections to Venezuela is of particular economic importance.

Riohacha has a regional airport .

The El Cerrejón rail freight line almost exclusively transports the coal extracted there.

economy

The location directly on the Caribbean coast largely determines the economic development of the province. Fishing , especially shrimp fishing, provides a livelihood for a large part of the coastal population in rural areas. There is also extensive extensive livestock farming, which is less efficient in large parts of La Guajira than in other regions of Colombia due to the aridity of the climate .

There are large banana plantations at the foot of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

With El Cerrejón , the province has the largest coal mine in South America. The only really functioning railway line in the country runs from the site of the mine to the provincial capital Riohacha. Rich natural gas fields, which have been exploited for a number of years, add significantly to the province's added value. Riohacha has a natural gas terminal.

Overall, the province is poor by Colombian standards. The significant revenues from marijuana growing that sparked an economic boom in the 1990s have not proven sustainable.

Due to the immediate vicinity to Venezuela, an illegal but largely tolerated shadow economy has developed. Mainly petroleum derivatives ( petrol ) and household electronics are imported into Colombia via the Maicao border crossing .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Extrapolation of the population of Colombia on the official DANE website