Magdalena () is a department of

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 ...

, located in the north of the country by the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, with more than 1.3 million people. The capital of the Magdalena Department is

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

and was named after the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River (, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, ...

. The department inherited the name of one of the original nine states of the

United States of Colombia The United States of Colombia () was the name adopted in 1863 by the for the Granadine Confederation, after years of civil war. Colombia became a federal state itself composed of nine "sovereign states.” It comprised the present-day nat ...

that its current territory integrated.

Geography

Location

The Department of Magdalena is located on the North Coast of the Colombian Caribbean Region. On the north it borders the

. On the

northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

it borders the

La Guajira Department La Guajira () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The capital city of the depart ...

, being divided by the Palomino River. On the east it borders with the

Cesar Department Cesar Department (), or simply Cesar, () is a departments of Colombia, department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean Region of Colombia, Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to ...

, which is in part divided by the Guaraní River. On the west, it is divided by the

, and it borders the departments of Atlantico in the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

, and Bolívar in the West and Southwest.

Hydrology

Basins

The territory of the Department of Magdalena is formed by four

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s which are very different in composition and importance. ;Sierra Nevada's Northern Slope The drainage basin of the Sierra Nevada's western slope is located in the northern part of the department. The

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...

creates different rivers that run mainly through the municipality of

, and that finally end up draining into the

. The rivers that form part of this basin are: * Palomino River * Don Diego River 2 * Buritaca River * Guachaca River * Mendiguaca River * Piedras River * Manzanares River * Gaira River ;Sierra Nevada’s Southwestern Slope This basin gathers its waters from the rivers coming from the southern and western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The basin irrigates great extensions of the municipalities of Ciénaga, Zona Bananera, Fundación,

Aracataca Aracataca (colloquially sometimes referred to as "Cataca") is a town and municipality located in the Department of Magdalena, in Colombia's Caribbean Region. Aracataca is a river town founded in 1885. The town stands beside a small river of t ...

, and

El Retén El Retén is a town and municipality of the Magdalena Department in northern Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in Nort ...

, which are the heart of the agricultural and livestock economy of the department. The rivers that form part of this basin are: * Frío River * Sevilla River * Tucurinca River * Aracataca River * Fundación River * Rosa Creek It also consists of a small number of arroyos that only flow during the rainy seasons. This basin also encompasses the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, the largest

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

in the north of the country, which is formed by 16 smaller marshes that are connected by means of

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

within the march. The balance of the march is a delicate one that depends on the fresh waters coming from the Sierra Nevada, and the periodical flooding of the

, and the salt water coming from the mouth of the March to the sea, that is carried by the current and winds into the marshland. ;Magdalena Basin El Banco

The Magdalena River Basin is the largest drainage basin in the department, it is formed by the

and its

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

that feed on to the river and the Marsh. The Mompóx Depression is found within this basin, this depression runs from the Zapatosa Marsh to the delta of the Magdalena River. This depression collects the most water in the department as its where the

Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangué in Bolívar Department, an ...

Cesar River The Cesar River () is a river in northern Colombia which is a part of the Magdalena Basin. It flows through the Cesar-Ranchería Basin and separates the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta from the mountain ranges of the Serranía del Perijá, an exten ...

, and the San Jorge River drain its waters. The Magdalena River is by far the most affluent river of these, and during the rainy season when it overflows, it causes the other rivers to flow backwards, not before overflowing the marshes and sometimes flooding some valleys. ;Ariguaní Basin The Ariguaní River drains into the Magdalena River through the Zapatosa Marsh and washes over the central valleys of the departments of Magdalena and

Cesar Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar ...

that are the principal areas of agriculture and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

in the Caribbean Region. ;Marshes The department of Magdalena is characterized by its many marshes and extensive marshland valleys. The whole western side of the department its dotted with marshes and lakes due to the Magdalena River that borders the department on this side. Most of this marshes are located in the northwestern side. The permanent marshes are, Chilloa, La Rinconada, Tesca, Pijiño, Juan Criollo, Jaraba, Playa Afuera, Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, and Zapatosa. Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta

The Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, is the biggest and by far the most important marsh in the department of Magdalena and one of the most important marshes in the country. It is located in the northwest of the department and is separated from the sea by a very thin margin of land, only a few meters away. It has an extension of , of which are just water mirrors with a depth of 2 to 6 meters. The Zapatosa Marsh, located in the municipality of El Plato in the southernmost part of the department, it is shared with the

, who controls most of its waters. It has an extension of and at its deepest it reaches about . In it many rivers of different importance merge. The Zapatosa Marsh drains into the Magdalena River by an arm of about of length.

Climate

The Department of Magdalena, because of its terrain, and proximity to the sea has an unstable weather. Its

Climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

is mainly dictated by its global positioning, and because the department of Magdalena is located on the

Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the t ...

it possess an inter-

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of or higher in the coolest month, featuring hot te ...

. Temperature in the department is affected by

ocean current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, sh ...

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

and

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013. ...

, it mainly has a hot temperatures with high humidity, but temperatures vary as altitude raises. The altitude of the department goes from 0m to 5,775m above sea levels, the drastic changes of altitude divide the territory into what is called thermal floors. There are no solid or determined divides between these floors as local factors can affect the temperature. The first 200m of altitude are considered the warm lands, they occupy a great extension of the departmental territory, the average temperature is of 30

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

. The main urban centers are located in the warm lands, including all of the downtown urban area of Santa Marta. The altitude increase because of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, an isolated mountain, the highest at sea level, and temperatures raise as it goes up.

Winds

The presence of the Sierra Nevada in this area of the country has consequences in the climate of the department, the SNSM stands windward blocking the path of the

Trade wind The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere, ...

s that blow from the North and Northeast creating a greater cloud accumulation and precipitation. The winds that crash into the mountain ascend in an

Orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

, this cooler air cannot hold the moisture as well as warm air and this effectively raises the

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

, creating clouds and frequently

. The clouds that manage to pass over the mountain, move hastily downwards creating

foehn wind A Foehn, or Föhn (, , , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm downslope wind in the lee of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of its moisture on windw ...

s that raise the temperature of the area west of the Sierra, which include the Santa Marta, and Ciénaga. In the coastal area, droughts are cause by the diversion of the cold and warm

katabatic wind A katabatic wind (named ) is a downslope wind caused by the flow of an elevated, high-density air mass into a lower-density air mass below under the force of gravity. The spelling catabatic is also used. Since air density is strongly dependent o ...

s coming down the Sierra, however the

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is a wind that blows in the afternoon from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass. By contrast, a land breeze or offshore breeze is a wind that blows in the night from a landmass toward or onto a large ...

s help to cool down temperatures a bit, but by because of their direction, they end up extending the drought effects farther inland.

Rainfall

The department of Magdalena due to its location in the Intertropical Convergence Zone has only two seasons. The

Rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

takes place between April and November, with a period of less intensity between June and August. The

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

takes place during December and March. The Mompox Depression presents its own climatic conditions due to its many permanent bodies of water, like the different ciénagas or mashes, and rivers and lakes. This wet habitat, permanently exposed to

solar radiation Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically p ...

, makes for a very

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

environment, with an average annual rainfall of between 1,500 and 2,000mm, these rains are Convection rains as they are created by evaporation of its waters by high temperatures, this is typical precipitation around the equatorial belt. Due to its complicated geography, the precipitation in the department ranges from 250mm in the driest areas, to 4,000mm in the cold floors of the Sierra Nevada.

Environment

The territory of Magdalena has an area of approximately 23,188 km², small compared to other regions, but in its territory various types of different

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

s are found. From the beaches and sea landscape in the North, the snow-covered peaks in the Sierra, the swampy marshes in the west, the

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

s, to the grasslands inland, the urban districts, the farmlands, the dry desert like, the deep rain forest, the rocky rivers to many other small ecosystems. These ecosystem support different

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

and

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and house many delicate species.

Ecoregions

According to the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

, in the Magdalena Department 8 different distinct

s are found in its territory.

Politics

Administrative divisions

The Department of Magdalena is subdivided into 30 municipalities and one district. The municipalities are governed by a democratically elected municipal mayor and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

. The Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta is administered by the Municipality of Santa Marta and has special distinction within the country.

Municipalities

# Algarrobo #

# Ariguaní # Cerro San Antonio #

Chibolo Chibolo (sometimes spelled Chivolo) is a town and municipality of the Colombian Department of Magdalena. Chibolo was founded in 1820 and became a municipality on March 8, 1974. Its economy is based on farming, but also attracts by having a hist ...

# Ciénaga # Concordia # El Banco # El Piñón #

# Fundación # Guamal # Nueva Granada # Pedraza # Pinto # Pijiño #

Pivijay Pivijay is a town and municipality of the 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 ...

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

# Pueblo Viejo # Remolino # Sabanas de San Ángel # Salamina # San Sebastián de Buenavista # Santa Ana #

# San Zenón # Sitionuevo #

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

# Zapayán # Zona Bananera

Tourism

Image:Bolivarmemorial01.jpg, The Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino,

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

's death place. Image:Arrecifes.jpg, The Tayrona National Natural Park, a unique

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. File:2019 Santa Marta - Terraza del Aeropuerto Internacional Simón Bolívar.jpg, Santa Marta Airport File:2019 Santa Marta - Plaza de Bolívar - Estatua ecuestre de Bolívar.jpg, Equestrian statue of Simón Bolívar File:2019 Santa Marta - Escaleras del Museo Tayrona.jpg, Casa de la Aduana File:Puerto santa marta.jpg, Santa Marta Port * Gold Museum * Casa de la Aduana * Simón Bolívar National Memorial * Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino (National Sanctuary and Museum) * Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of

Ciudad Perdida Ciudad Perdida ( Spanish for "lost city"; also known as Teyuna and Buritaca-200) is the archaeological site of an ancient city in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Colombia, within the jurisdiction of the municipality of Santa Marta. This city ...

(

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

) * Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (flora and fauna sanctuary) * Isla de Salamanca (

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

) * Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park * Tayrona National Natural Park

Sports

* Unión Magdalena

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Team that until c. 2005 that did not make the cut and was sent to the Colombian second division (''Primera B''). The team is nicknamed "''el ciclón bananero''" (The Banana Cyclone).

Flag

The flag of the department consists of six horizontal bands, alternately red and blue, on which is a five-pointed star made up of 30 small white stars to represent the department's 29 component municipalities and one district.Gobernación del Magdalena: Simbolos
/ref>

References

External links

{{Authority control Caribbean region of Colombia Departments of Colombia States and territories established in 1824 1824 establishments in Gran Colombia