Department of Valle del Cauca Departamento del Valle del Cauca |
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Department | |||
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Valle del Cauca shown in red |
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Topography of the department |
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Coordinates: 3°25′N 76°31′W / 3.417°N 76.517°WCoordinates: 3°25′N 76°31′W / 3.417°N 76.517°W | |||
Country | Colombia | ||
Region | Andean Region/Pacific Region | ||
Established | 16 April 1910 | ||
Capital | Cali | ||
Government | |||
• Governor | Dilian Francisca Toro (2016-2019) (Social Party of National Unity) | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 22,140 km2 (8,550 sq mi) | ||
Area rank | 23 | ||
Population (2005) | |||
• Total | 4,560,196 | ||
• Rank | 3 | ||
• Density | 210/km2 (530/sq mi) | ||
Time zone | UTC−5 | ||
ISO 3166 code | CO-VAC | ||
Municipalities | 42 | ||
Website | www.valledelcauca.gov.co |
Valle del Cauca, or Cauca Valley (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbaʎe ðel ˈkauka], locally: [ˈβaʝe ðel ˈkauka]) is a department of Colombia. It is in the western side of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean, and it is considered one of the most important departments in the Republic of Colombia. Its capital is Santiago de Cali. Given its privileged location, lately it has been considered as the Pacific Door of Colombia. Besides Cali such cities as Buenaventura, Cartago and Tuluá have great economical, political, social and cultural influence on the department's life. Valle del Cauca has the largest number of independent towns (i.e. not in Metropolitan areas) with over 100,000 inhabitants in the country, counting six within its borders.Buenaventura has the largest and busiest seaport in Colombia, moving about 8,500,000 tons of merchandise.
The anthem of Valle del Cauca Department is "Salve Valle del Cauca, mi tierra" ("Hail Valley of the Cauca, my land").
The department of Valle del Cauca is located in the western part of the country, between 3° 05’ and 5° 01’ latitude N, 75° 42’ and 77° 33’ longitude W. It borders the departments of Risaralda and Quindío to the north, Cauca to the south, Tolima, and Chocó and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The valley is geographically bounded by the Central and Western mountain ranges and is watered by numerous rivers which empty into the Cauca River. The department is divided into four zones: the Pacific Fringe, which is humid and mostly jungle; the western mountain range, also humid and full of jungle, heavily deforested due to the paper industry; the Andean valley of the Cauca river, whose surrounding lands are the most fertile of the country; and the western ridge of the central mountain range.