Vaupes Department
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Department of Vaupés Departamento del Vaupés |
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| Department | |||
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 Vaupés shown in red |
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 Topography of the department |
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| Coordinates: 1°12′N 70°10′W / 1.200°N 70.167°WCoordinates: 1°12′N 70°10′W / 1.200°N 70.167°W | |||
| Country |
 Colombia
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| Region | Amazonía Region | ||
| Established | July 4, 1991 | ||
| Capital | Mitú | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Jesús Maria Vásquez Caicedo (2016-2019) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 54,135 km2 (20,902 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 7th | ||
| Population (2013) | |||
| • Total | 42,817 | ||
| • Rank | 32nd | ||
| • Density | 0.79/km2 (2.0/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC-05 | ||
| ISO 3166 code | CO-VAU | ||
| Municipalities | 6 | ||
| Website | www.vaupes.gov.co | ||
Vaupés is a department of Colombia in the jungle covered Amazonas Region. It is located in the southeast part of the country, bordering Brazil to the east, the department of Amazonas to the south, Caquetá to the west, and Guaviare, and Guainía to the north; covering a total area of 54,135 km². Its capital is the town of Mitú.
During the colonization by the Spanish and first days of the first republic, the territory of Vaupes was part of the Province of Popayán, during the Greater Colombia. After the independence from Spain between 1821 and 1830 became part of the first version of the Boyacá Department. Between 1831 and 1857 the territory became part of the National Territory of Caquetá to later be part of the Sovereign State of Cauca. In 1886 became part of the then recently created Cauca Department.
With the expansion of the rubber industry and the industrial revolution, exploration for rubber reached the area briging colonizers that altered and in some cases extinguished the majority of the indigenous population.
The territory was first made into a territorial division in 1910 and functioned as Commissaries (Comisarias) with the town of Calamar as capital (located in present-day Guaviare) but later moved to the town of Mitú to make an "act of presence" near the border with Brasil. In 1963 Guainía segregated from the Vaupes and became a commissary. In 1977, Guaviare followed the same path.
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