Vaupés Department

Department of Vaupés Departamento del Vaupés
Department
Flag Coat of arms
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Vaupés shown in red
Coordinates:
Country	Colombia
Region	Amazonía Region
Established	July 4, 1991
Capital	Mitú
Government
• Governor	José Leónidas Soto (2008-)
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.

History

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.

The Department was created after the Colombian Constitution of 1991 which established it as a Department of Colombia on July 4, 1991.

Economy

The department's main economic activities feature logging and fishing, with much exportation to neighboring Brazil.

Demographics

The vast majority of the population consists of indigenous inhabitants.

Transportation

Because of its location in the Amazon jungle, it has no roads connecting it with the rest of the country or internally from settlement to settlement, and commerce and contact with the outside world is achieved through travel along the main rivers and by means of air travel. Several of the small settlements have airstrips with service to the department's capital, Mitú, and from there with the rest of the country.

Administrative divisions

Because of its small population and vast extension of land, Vaupés only has 3 municipalities. Other sections of the Department were classified as an especial type of Corregimiento, which has certain hybrid functions from a municipality and corregimiento.

Municipalities

1. Caruru
2. Mitú
3. Taraira

Department Corregimientos

1. Pacoa
2. Papunahua
3. Yavarate

Municipal Corregimientos

1. Acaricuara
2. Villa Fátima

See also

• Barasana language
• Cubeo language