Guainía Department

Department of Guainía Departamento de Guainía
Department
Cerros de Mavecure: Cerro Mono, 480m (left) and Cerro Pajarito, 712m (right)
Flag Coat of arms
Guainía shown in red
Topography of the department
Coordinates: 3°51′55″N 67°55′26″W / 3.86528°N 67.92389°W / 3.86528; -67.92389Coordinates: 3°51′55″N 67°55′26″W / 3.86528°N 67.92389°W / 3.86528; -67.92389
Country	Colombia
Region	Amazon Region
Capital	Inírida
Government
• Governor	Javier Eliecer Zapata Parrado (2016-2019)
Area
• Total	72,238 km2 (27,891 sq mi)
Area rank	5th
Population (2013)
• Total	40,203
• Rank	33rd
• Density	0.56/km2 (1.4/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-05
ISO 3166 code	CO-GUA

Guainía (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaiˈni.a]; Yuri language: Land of many waters) is a department of Colombia. It is in the east of the country, bordering Venezuela and Brazil. Its capital is Inírida. In 1963 Guainía was split off from Vaupés department. The northern part and the Inírida River are included in the Orinoco river basin; the rest is part of Amazonia. The Guaviare River is the main area of colonization, many colonos come from the Colombian Andean zone, most of them from Boyacá. They are followed by the llaneros, people from the Eastern plains (Los Llanos). The main population is composed by Amerindians, the largest ethnic groups are the Puinaves (from the makú-puinave family) and the curripacos (from the Arawak family). There are a total of 24 ethnic groups in the department, many of them speak four Indian languages besides Spanish and Portuguese.

There's only one municipality in Guainía: Inírida, its capital. The rest of the territory is subdivided in corregimientos departamentales, a pending figure due to public disorder. This case happens only in Amazonas, Vaupés and Vichada. Barranco Minas is the second biggest population and its main corregimiento; it is located in the Guaviare River.