La Guajira department
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La Guajira Department Departamento de La Guajira |
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| Department | |||
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| Anthem: . | |||
 La Guajira shown in red |
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 Topography of the department |
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| Coordinates: 11°33′N 72°54′W / 11.550°N 72.900°WCoordinates: 11°33′N 72°54′W / 11.550°N 72.900°W | |||
| Country |
 Colombia
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| Region | Caribbean Region | ||
| Established | July 1, 1965 | ||
| Capital | Riohacha | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Oneida Rayeth Pinto Perez (2016-2019) (Radical Change) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 20,848 km2 (8,049 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 25th | ||
| Population (2013) | |||
| • Total | 902,386 | ||
| • Rank | 20th | ||
| • Density | 43/km2 (110/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC-05 | ||
| ISO 3166 code | CO-LAG | ||
| Municipalities | 15 | ||
| Website | www.laguajira.gov.co/ | ||
La Guajira (Spanish pronunciation: [la ɣwaˈxiɾa]) 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 department is Riohacha.
Various indigenous tribes populated the arid plains of the region prior to the Spanish arrival to the Americas. In 1498, Alonso de Ojeda sailed around the peninsula of La Guajira, but the first to set foot in what is known today as La Guajira was the Spanish explorer Juan de la Cosa in 1499. During the colonial era, the territory of La Guajira was disputed by the governors of Santa Marta and Venezuela, owing to deposits of pearls. English pirates, Frenchmen, and Germans also disputed the territory. Martin Fernandez de Enciso founded Nuestra Señora Santa María de los Remedios del Cabo de la Vela, the first village in the territory. In 1535, Nicolás de Federmán refound the settlement as the village of Riohacha, as a result of constant attacks. In 1544, it was moved to the site of the present-day city. In 1871, the region was separated from the Department of Magdalena, and La Guajira became a national territory in its own right. The Intendance of La Guajira was created in 1898.
In 1911, the Colombian government created the Commissary of la Guajira, followed by a wave of Middle Eastern immigrants (Christians and Maronites) from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan, and countries under the Ottoman Empire coming to La Guajira in the 1930s, mostly to the city of Maicao. In 1954, the Intendance of la Guajira was created again and Riohacha was declared a municipality. Finally, in 1964, the Department of La Guajira was created.
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