Department of Cundinamarca

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Department of Cundinamarca
Departamento de Cundinamarca
Department of Colombia
Flag of Department of Cundinamarca Coat of arms of Department of Cundinamarca
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
Location of Department of Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca shown in red, its capital Bogotá shown in green
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".

Contents

[edit] Origin of the name

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

[edit] 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 Bogotá. 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.

Entity Population Area (km²) Density
Cundinamarca (excluding D.C.) 2,349,578 22,623 104
Bogotá D.C. 7,117,984 1,587 4,485
Cundinamarca plus Bogotá 9,467,562 24,210 391

[edit] 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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] See also