Amazonas () is a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Southern 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 The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of ...

, which drains the department.

Toponymy

The department name comes from the name of the Amazon River. The river was named by the Spanish explorer

Francisco de Orellana Francisco de Orellana Bejarano Pizarro y Torres de Altamirano (; 1511 – November 1546) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. In one of the most improbably successful voyages in known history, Orellana managed to sail the length of the Amaz ...

(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.

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.

National parks

The Amazonas Department covers of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, 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 El Encanto is a town and municipality in the ''Amazonas Department'', Colombia. It is located in the mouth of the Caraparaná River, tributary of the Putumayo River ( Içá). El Encanto can be reached by air or river. The local navy base has a ...

# La Chorrera # La Pedrera # La Victoria # Leticia #

Mirití-Paraná Mirití-Paraná is a town and municipality in the southern Colombian Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (admin ...

Puerto Alegría Puerto Alegría () is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Amazonas. Puerto Alegria was founded by Orlando Benjumea and Reinaldo Martínez, and officially recognized by the Colombian government as a municipality on January 1, 1 ...

Puerto Arica Puerto Arica is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Amazonas. History Originally founded by Peruvian refugees from the War of the Pacific, it was awarded to Colombia after the Salomón-Lozano Treaty. These refugees would later ...

Puerto Nariño Puerto Nariño is the second municipality of the Amazonas department of Colombia, located on the shore of the Amazon River. It has about 6,000 residents, most of them are indigenous (from the Ticuna tribe) and its specificity is that it is entir ...

# Puerto Santander # Tarapacá Mapa de Amazonas (político)

References

External links