Guajira Peninsula

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For other uses, see Guajira.
The Guajira Peninsula on the left of Gulf of Venezuela and south of the Caribbean sea.
The Guajira Peninsula on the left of Gulf of Venezuela and south of the Caribbean sea.

Guajira Peninsula (Spanish: Peninsula de La Guajira) is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean sea. It is the northernmost peninsula in South America and has an area of 25,000 km² extending from the Manaure Bay (Colombia) in the Caribbean sea to the Calabazo Ensenada in the Gulf of Venezuela (Venezuela). Most of the territory is part of Colombia, making part of the Department of La Guajira, while the remaining strip pertains to the Venezuelan State of Zulia. The northern most part of the peninsula is called Punta Gallinas (12° 28´ N) and is also considered the northernmost part of mainland South America.[1]

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[edit] Climate

The region receives the flow of the Trade winds from the northern hemisphere and forms along the northeastern coast of Venezuela and the Antilles, the Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub. The Trade winds cause a resurgence of the deep littoral waters and makes the sea more rich in living species on the western side of the peninsula. The northeastern flank of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range acts as a barrier that generates abundant rainfall in its steps and originate the Rancheria River, the only major river in the area. Climate and vegetation varies from south to north, presenting a hyper humid jungle weather in the southern part (3000 mm a year) to the desertic areas in the north (300 mm a year).

In the northern area there is a small range of mountains called Macuira that reaches 900 m over sea level that trap some of the Trade winds and cause mist. Most of the mountain range is a protected area called National Natural Park of Macuira. Nearby there is also the 80 km² Flamingos Fauna and Flora Sanctuary.

The peninsula is mainly inhabited by members of the native tribe of the Wayuus which use the plains to raise cattle, sheeps, goats and horses. The descendants of the Spanish colonizers settled in the southeastern part of the peninsula (sometimes referred to as the Padilla Province) were the land is more fertile due to the proximity to other river basins, such as the cesar river basin and is subject to large plantations of cotton, sorghum and cattle ranching.

Since the 1980s the central area of the peninsula was subject to the exploration and exploitation of coal and natural gas in the area of Cerrejon and of oil in the littoral.

[edit] References

[edit] Internet

  1. ^ USGS: Caribbean Coast: Guajira Peninsula coast USGS Accessed 24 August 2007.

[edit] Books

  • (Spanish) Henri Candelier. 1892. Riohacha y los Indios Guajiros. Crónica de un viajero y explorador francés quien durante tres años, 1889-1892, recorrió La Guajira.
  • (Spanish) Martha Ligia Castellanos, Luis Carlos Pardo L. 2000. Caracterización y primera aproximación a la determinación del índice de biodiversidad en los suelos de la cuenca del arroyo Mekijanao, Serranía de la Macuira, Alta Guajira. En: Juan Carlos Pérez (editor) X Congreso Nacional de la Ciencia del Suelo. Programa y resúmenes. El suelo un componente del medio natural. Medellín, Octubre 11 al 13 de 2000
  • (Spanish) Edith González, Gabriel Guillot, Néstor Miranda, Diana Pombo (editores). 1990. Perfil Ambiental de Colombia. Colciencias. Escala. Bogotá.
  • (Spanish) Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi. 1996. Diccionario Geográfico de Colombia. Edición en CD-ROM. Bogotá, Colombia.