Cundinamarca Department

Department of Cundinamarca
Departamento de Cundinamarca

Department of Colombia
Flag of the Department of Cundinamarca Coat of arms of the Department of Cundinamarca
Motto: Cundinamarca Corazón de Colombia (Spanish: Cundinamarca, Heart of Colombia)
Anthem: Himno de Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca and Bogotá D.C. are shown in red
Established	June 15, 1857
Region	Andean Region
Capital	Bogotá
Number of Provinces	15
Governor - Governor's Political Party	Andrés Gonzales Colombian Liberal Party
Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of total)	Ranked 17 24,210 km² km² km² (%)
Population  - Total (2005)  - Density	Ranked 4 2,228,478[1] 92.04/km²
ISO code	CO-CUN
Government's Website: www.cundinamarca.gov.co

Cundinamarca is a department of Colombia, one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia". Its area covers 24.210 Kms and has a population of 2.280.037. It was created on August, 5 of 1886 under the constitutional terms presented on the same year. Cundinamarca is located in the center of Colombia and its capital is Bogota.

Origin of the name

The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua, used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands, meaning Condor's Nest.

Geography

Most of Cundinamarca is on the Eastern Cordillera (Cordillera Oriental), just south of Boyacá, bordered by the Magdalena River on the west, reaching down into the Orinoco River basin on the east, and bordering on Tolima to the south. The capital district of Bogotá is nearly completely surrounded by Cundinamarca territory, and indeed was formed by carving up Cundinamarca; between this and other divisions, the present department of Cundinamarca is much smaller than the original state.

The capital of Cundinamarca is Bogota. This is a special case among Colombian departments, since Bogotá is not legally a part of Cundinamarca, yet it is the only department that has its capital designated by the Constitution (meaning that if the capital was to be ever moved, it would take a constitutional reform to do so, instead of a simple ordinance passed by the Cundinamarca Assembly). Also, in censuses, the populations for Bogotá and Cundinamarca are tabulated separately; otherwise, Cundinamarca's population would total 9.5 million.

Chisaca Lake at Sumapaz Paramo

Provinces

Cundinamarca has 15 provinces and the Capital District of Bogotá (Bogotá D.C.), which simultaneously acts as capital of the Republic, capital of the Department and a District (or Department) in itself.

1. Almeidas
2. Upper Magdalena (Alto Magdalena)
3. Lower Magdalena (Bajo Magdalena)
4. Gualivá
5. Guavio
6. Central Magdalena (Magdalena Centro)
7. Medina
8. Eastern (Oriente)
9. Rionegro
10. Central Savanna (Sabana Centro)
11. Western Savanna (Sabana Occidente)
12. Soacha
13. Sumapaz
14. Tequendama
15. Ubaté

References

External links

• Cundinamarca travel guide from Wikitravel

See also

• Postage stamps of Cundinamarca

v • d • e Departments of Colombia  Amazonas  Antioquia  Arauca  Atlántico  Bolívar  Boyacá  Caldas  Caquetá  Casanare  Cauca  Cesar  Chocó  Córdoba  Cundinamarca  Guainía  Guaviare  Huila  La Guajira  Magdalena  Meta  Nariño  N. Santander  Putumayo  Quindío  Risaralda  San Andrés  Santander  Sucre  Tolima  Valle del Cauca  Vaupés  Vichada Capital district:  Bogotá

v • d • e Provinces and Municipalities in Cundinamarca Department Almeidas Province Chocontá • Machetá • Manta • Sesquilé • Suesca • Tibiritá • Villapinzón Upper Magdalena Province Agua de Dios • Girardot • Guataqui • Jerusalen • Nariño • Nilo • Ricaurte • Tocaima Lower Magdalena Province Caparrapí • Guaduas • Puerto Salgar Gualivá Province Albán • La Peña • La Vega • Nimaima • Nocaima • Quebradanegra • San Francisco • Sasaima • Supatá • Útica • Vergara • Villeta Guavio Province Gachala • Gacheta • Gama • Guasca • Guatavita • Junín • La Calera • Ubalá Central Magdalena Province Beltrán • Bituima • Chaguani • Guayabal de Síquima • Puli • San Juan Rioseco • Viani Medina Province Medina • Paratebueno Eastern Province Caqueza • Chipaque • Choachí • Fomeque • Fosca • Guayabetal • Gutierrez • Quetame • Ubaque • Une Rionegro Province El Peñón • La Palma • Pacho • Paime • San Cayetano • Topaipí • Villagómez • Yacopí Central Savanna Province Cajicá • Chía • Cogua • Cota • Gachancipá • Nemocón • Sopó • Tabio • Tenjo • Tocancipá • Zipaquirá Western Savanna Province Bojacá • El Rosal • Facatativá • Funza • Madrid • Mosquera • Subachoque • Zipacón Soacha Province Sibaté • Soacha Sumapaz Province Arbeláez • Cabrera • Fusagasugá • Granada • Pandi • Pasca • San Bernardo • Silvania • Tibacuy • Venecia Tequendama Province Anapoima • Anolaima • Apulo • Cachipay • El Colegio • La Mesa • Quipile • San Antonio del Tequendama • Tena • Viotá Ubaté Province Cucunubá • Fúquene • Guachetá • Lenguazaque • Simijacá • Susa • Sutatausa • Tausa • Ubaté Metropolitan Area of Bogotá Bogotá, Capital District See also: List of municipalities in Cundinamarca