Amazonas () is a department of Southern

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. It is the largest department in area while having the third smallest population among the departments. Its capital is Leticia and its name comes from the Amazon River, which drains the department. It is made up entirely of Amazon Rainforest territory. The southern portion of the department, south of the Putumayo River, is called the "Amazonian Trapeze", which includes the triple border of Colombia,

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and

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, and its southern limit is the Amazon River.

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" who 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. In 2018, the population comprised 76,589 people.

National parks

The Amazonas Department covers of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

, 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

# El Encanto # La Chorrera # La Pedrera # La Victoria # Leticia # Mirití-Paraná # Puerto Alegría # Puerto Arica # Puerto Nariño # Puerto Santander # Tarapacá

References

External links