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Guajira Department
La Guajira is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of its namesake peninsula, in the northeast region of the country, facing the Caribbean Sea and Venezuela. Its capital is Riohacha.
Various indigenous tribes populate the vast arid plains, such as the Wayuu people, noted for their beautiful woven bags and the strong alcoholic spirit chirinchi. Guajira tribes feature prominently in Papillon by Henri Charriere, about an escaped convict who takes refuge with one such tribe. The largest employer in the department is the Cerrejon coal mine, which produced 24.9 million tons of export coal in 2004. A popular tourist destination is Cabo de la Vela, a small fishing village located on the tip of the peninsula.
Geography
The northern part of the department is arid plains, the Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub, in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta which rise to 5,775 meters in the south. The Sinu Valley dry forests lie in between.
In the far south are the headwaters of the Cesar River.
Municipalities
Albania
Barrancas
Dibulla
Distraccion
El Molino
Fonseca
Hatonuevo
La Jagua del Pilar
Maicao
Manaure
Riohacha
San Juan del Cesar
Uribia
Urumita
Villanueva
External links
Government of La Guajira official website
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Guajira Department
