Guajira Department

Department of La Guajira
Departamento de La Guajira

Department of Colombia
Flag of the Department of La Guajira Coat of arms of the Department of La Guajira
Anthem: Himno de La Guajira
La Guajira shown in red
Established	July 1, 1965
Region	Caribbean Region
Capital	Riohacha
Number of Provinces	2
Number of Municipalities	15
Governor - Governor's Political Party	José Luis González Crespo Colombian Liberal Party
Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of total)	Ranked 25th 20,848 km² km² km² (%)
Population  - Total (2005)  - Density	Ranked 21 623,250[1] 29.89/km²
ISO_Code	CO-LAG
Government's Website: www.laguajira.gov.co/

La Guajira (IPA: [la ɰwa'hiɾa]) is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of its namesake peninsula, in the northeast region of the country, facing the Caribbean Sea and Venezuela. Its capital is Riohacha. Various indigenous tribes populate the vast arid plains, such as the Wayuu people, noted for their beautiful woven bags and the strong alcoholic spirit chirinchi. Guajira tribes feature prominently in Papillon by Henri Charriere, about an escaped convict who takes refuge with one such tribe. The largest employer in the department is the Cerrejón coal mine, which produced 24.9 million tons of export coal in 2004. A popular tourist destination is Cabo de la Vela, a small fishing village located on the tip of the peninsula.

Geography

The northern part of the department is arid plains, the Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub, in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta which rise to 5,775 meters in the south. The Sinú Valley dry forests lie in between. In the far south are the headwaters of the Cesar River.

Municipalities

1. Albania
2. Barrancas
3. Dibulla
4. Distracción
5. El Molino
6. Fonseca
7. Hatonuevo
8. La Jagua del Pilar
9. Maicao
10. Manaure
11. Riohacha
12. San Juan del Cesar
13. Uribia
14. Urumita
15. Villanueva

External links

• (Spanish) Government of La Guajira official website

References

Coordinates: 11°51′N, 72°02′W