Amazonas Department

The Amazonas Department (Spanish: Departamento del Amazonas, Spanish pronunciation: [amaˈsonas]) is a department of 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.

Amazonas Department

Departamento del Amazonas
Department
Motto(s): 
Entre todos podemos
(Spanish: All of us, can)
Anthem: Himno de Amazonas
Amazonas shown in red
Topography of the department
Country Colombia
RegionAmazonía Region
EstablishedOctober 5, 1991
CapitalLeticia
Government
 • GovernorManuel Antonio Carebilla Cuellar(2016-2019)
Area
 • Total109,665 km2 (42,342 sq mi)
Area rank1st
Population
 (2018)[2]
 • Total76,589
 • Rank30th
 • Density0.70/km2 (1.8/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-05
ISO 3166 codeCO-AMA
HDI (2017)0.695[3]
medium · 28th
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.

Culture

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:[4]

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

References
  1. "Nuestro Departamento: Información general: Geografía". Gobernación del Amazonas. Archived from the original on 2012-06-29.
  2. "DANE". Archived from the original on November 13, 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  3. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  4. "Reloj de Población". DANE. Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadísitica. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2020.

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