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Norte de Santander Department
North Santander is a department of Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cucuta, one of the major cities of Colombia.
North Santander Department is bordered by Venezuela to the east and north, by Santander Department and Boyaca Department to the south, and by South Santander Department and Cesar Department to the east.
The official Department name in Spanish is "Departamento de Norte de Santander" (North Santander Department) in honor to the Colombian military and political leader Francisco de Paula Santander. North Santander Department is located in the northwestern zone of the Colombian Andean Region.
The area of present day Norte de Santander played an important role in the history of Colombia, during the War of Independence from Spain when Congress gave origin to the Greater Colombia in Villa del Rosario.
History
Many territorial divisions had to occur before definitively constituting the Norh Santander Department, created in 1910, time at which General Ramon Gonzalez Valencia governed the Nation.
It was Law 25 of July 14, 1910, that took effect July 20 of the same year. Law 25 of 1910, signed by the then President of the National Assembly of Colombia, Emilio Ferrero; the Secretary, Marcelino Uribe exequible Arango and declared by the Gentleman President Ramon Gonzalez Valencia and by Minister of Government Miguel Abbey Mendez, was the one that took step to the Department which today we know like North Santander, been born after several attempts given from April 1850, time in which the Republic of New Granada was born with 5 departments and 19 provinces.
In that time, Santander was born not like Department but like province with San Jose de Cucuta like its capital. In 1857 the sovereign Department of Santander was created and its capital was Pamplona. As of December of that same year, the capital was transferred to Bucaramanga.
In May 1858, the Republic of Colombia was denominated Granadina Confederation and were part of her 8 Departments, including the one of Santander. Years later, in 1863, it was decided in the National Convention of Rio Negro, to change the name of the country by the one of the United States of Colombia.
The expedition of the Political Constitution of 1886, at the well-known time like Regeneration, changed the name of the country and is again from that time that our territory is known like Republic of Colombia. For that time also the provinces began to denominate departments and were divided in provinces.
Our Department still was well-known as Santander and were part of him the provinces of Cucuta, Ocana, Pamplona, Charala, Garcia Rovira, Guanenta, Soto, Socorro and Velez. In 1905, the Department was divided in two and during a time, Santander had to Cucuta, Ocana, River of Gold, Pamplona, Garcia Rovira, Santos and Fortul, like provinces.
A new political division underwent the country in 1908 and as a result of it, the Department of Cucuta existed by a short period. In April 1910, there were changes in the political division of Colombia again. The 34 departments created in 1908, were suppressed and the country recovered the effective political division in 1905, with which Cucuta disappears as Department and returns to depend on Bucaramanga, by a short period, until the expedition of Law 25 of July 1910, with which the North Santander Department is born.
Geography
North Santander has a varied geography and is composed by mountainous areas, deserts, plateaus, plains and hills, with municipalities of heights very varied, this make in landscapes and climates immensely rich. Throughout his territory they cross by rivers and lagoons.
The Department is conformed by three natural regions: the most broken part is represented by the Eastern Mountain range, it begins in the site known as Naked Santurban and soon it becomes the Mountainous area of the Motilones. On the other hand, the plains of the Catatumbo River and the Zulia River are located to the Northwest and to the south it is the valley of the Magdalena River.
The sector of influence of the Catatumbo river has temperatures averaging 24 C with warm climates and humid, whereas in the zone of Cucuta, it varies of dry to very dry; and in the mountainous area, great variety of climates that go from the temperings to the very cold ones, including inferior appears to the 12 C.
A rich hydrographic system crosses the Department with three river basins of great importance: to the north the one of the Catatumbo river, to the west the one of the Magdalena river and to the southwest, the one of the Orinoco river.
Demographics
Population Statistics
North Santander has a special demography due its border localization. Cucuta has the largest population rate where a lot of Venezuelans live. Other cities are Ocana and Pamplona.
Statistics of Households
In this Department the citizens prefer to live in houses (89.8%).
Administrative divisions
Regions and municipalities
Western
Abrego
Cachira
Convencion
El Carmen
La Esperanza
Hacari
La Playa
Ocana
San Calixto
Teorama
Northern
Bucarasica
El Tarra
Sardinata
Tibu
Eastern
Cucuta
El Zulia
Los Patios
Puerto Santander
San Cayetano
Villa del Rosario
South-West
Cacota
Chitaga
Mutiscua
Pamplona, Colombia
Pamplonita
Silos, Norte de Santander
Center
Arboledas
Cucutilla
Gramalote
Lourdes
Salazar de las Palmas
Santiago
Villa Caro
Southeast
Bochalema
Chinacota
Durania
Herran
Labateca
Ragonvalia
Toledo
Food
Among the typical dishes offered in the department there is Mute, Hayacas, of extended and rectangular form, the Cabrito, that is consumed roasted or cooked, the pies of chick-pea, that are an Indian called species of empanadas and the maize surrounded ones. Other dishes are rampuche and panche.
See also
Congress of Cucuta
Constitution of Cucuta
External links
Gobernacion de Norte de Santander
Acnur on Norte de Santander
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Norte de Santander Department
