The Arauca department

It is located on the west part of Colombia. It limits with Venezuela (its border is the Arauca river) and with the Vichada, Casanare and Boyacá departments. It is also 23 818 square kilometers, wich means the 2.1% of the whole Colombian area. The population is from almost 300 000 people. It is divided into 7 municipalities.

Hydrography:
The most important rivers in Arauca flow from west to east. The important rivers are the Arauca and the Casanare.

Economy:
The principal activities are the ranching and oil extraction. The ELN guerilla isn't good for the last mentioned because they destroy pipelines. The cultivation of the cocoa and banana is also important for the economy of the department.

Population:
As I said before almost 300 000 people live in Arauca. 93% are mestizos and white people. The other 7% are black people and natives. You can find 7 native tribes on the department. They biggest one of the has 1200 members.

The Cocuy:
On the western part of the department, you can find one of  the most beautiful Colombian national parks.  I will tell more about it on future posts.

This was today's blog post, I know it wasn't as big as others, but there is not a lot to tell about this department.

Well, that was today's post, if you want more follow the blog on twitter or like it on facebook. You can also support the blog via patreon.com here. (why does colombia4u need support?).

The Antioquia department

Located on the northwest of the country, it is the 6th biggest department in Colombia with almost
63000 square kilometers. almost 7 million people live here, almost the dame amount than in the capital city. The capital is Medellín, the second biggest and most important city in Colombia.

The climate:

The location and the western and central mountain ranges (to learn more about relief check out this blog post) make the climate as it is. Depending mostly on the height, the climate can get very hot (lowlands in Urabá) or very cold (páramo of Sonsón). Another important fact that could change the climate is the vegetation. The more thick it is the more humid it gets. 

Important Cities:

The number at the right of the name is the population of the city.

1. Medellín (2.464.323)
2. Bello (455.865 )
3. Itagüí (267.851)
4. Envigado (222.455)
5. Apartadó (178.257)
6. Turbo (159.268)
7. Rionegro (120.249)
8. Caucasia (112.168)
9. Caldas (77.847)
10. Chigorodó (76.202)

Economy:

Antioquia is the second richest department in Colombia with 15% of the total GDP of the whole country. It is the department with most exportation, even in 2005 Antioquia has the 25% of the countries exportation. Today the department has important sectors of technology like software developing. The agriculture plays also an important role. It produces lots of coffee and banana. 

Culture:

Because Antioquia is surrounded by mountains it was isolated through the colonial time, this gave Antioquia a unique personality represented by his culture. In another blog post, I will tell you more about the paisas, the people that live in Antioquia famous for his love to their land and hard work.

Food:
One of the most important plates in Colombia comes from Antioquia. It is called, "La Bandeja Paisa"wich translated would be "the paisa tray". It has red beans, meat, arepa (some kind of colombian mais bread), chorizo (some kind of colombian sausage), egg and avocado. It is really big but tasty, I would recomend it to you. Some other plates are the sancocho, a soup, the mazamorra, a dessert or the empanda, an appetizer.

Well, that was today's post, if you want more follow the blog on twitter or like it on facebook. You can also support the blog via patreon.com here. (why does colombia4u need support?).

The amazonas department

It is one of the 32 Colombian departments and is located on the south part of the country. With a surface of 109 655 square kilometers. It's territory is mostly jungle. The capital of this department is Leticia. 

The department has a population of about 80 000 people. It isn't much considering that it is the biggest department and that Leticia, it's capital has a population of about 40 000 people. As I said before this is because the department is mostly jungle and the population of it is mostly of different native tribes. You can find nine of these: 

1. Ticuna
2. Huitotos
3. Yaguas
4. Cocama
5. Yucunas
6. Mirañas
7. Matapíes
8. Boras
9. Muinanes

The economy of the department is based on the extraction of wood, rubber and chicle, the fishing and farming plays also and important role. The green tourism is very famous in this department. 

Because building streets in this department are very difficult you can just fly to Leticia and move through the department through riverways. 

Well, that was today's post, if you want more follow the blog on twitter or like it on facebook. You can also support the blog via patreon.com here. (why does colombia4u need support?).