Cesar Department(Spanish:Departamento del Cesar) or simplyCesar(Spanish pronunciation:[seˈsaɾ]) is adepartmentofColombialocated in the north of the country in theCaribbean region,bordering to the north with theDepartment of La Guajira,to the west with theDepartment of MagdalenaandDepartment of Bolivar,to the south withDepartment of Santander,to the east with theDepartment of North Santander,and further to the east with the country ofVenezuela(Zulia State). The department capital city isValledupar.[5]
Cesar Department
Departamento del Cesar | |
|---|---|
| Department of the Cesar | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Anthem:Himno del Cesar | |
 Cesar shown in green | |
 Topography of the department | |
| Coordinates:10°29′N73°15′W/ 10.483°N 73.250°W | |
| Country |  Colombia |
| Region | Caribbean Region |
| Established | December 1967 |
| Capital | Valledupar |
| Government | |
| •Governor | Francis Ferdinand Ovalle Angarita (2016-2019) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 22,905 km2(8,844 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 22nd |
| Population (2018)[2] | |
| • Total | 1,200,574 |
| • Rank | 16th |
| • Density | 52/km2(140/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | COP37,524 billion (US$8.8 billion) |
| Time zone | UTC-05 |
| ISO 3166 code | CO-CES |
| HDI(2019) | 0.729[4] high·21st of 33 |
| Website | gobcesar.gov.co |
The region was first inhabited by indigenous peoples known as Euparis in the Valley of Upar and Guatapuris in the Valley of the Cesar river, among these were the Orejones pertaining to the Toupeh, Acanayutos pertaining to theMotilonand Alcoholades pertaining to theChimila.The first European to explore the area was Spanish Captain Peter Vadillo, but GermanAmbrose Alfingersavagely conquered the region in 1532.[6]
From 1996 to 2006 paramilitary groups committed gross human rights violations affecting tens of thousands of victims in the Cesar mining region.
Etymology
editThe "Cesar" name is an adaptation from theChimilaindigenous wordChet-tzarorZazare( "calm water" ) into Spanish, in reference to theCesar River.The valley that its basin covers is also named after the river and extends through most of the department. The department of Cesar was created in 1967 by decree and the name officially adopted.[7]
Geography
edit
The department of Cesar is located in northern Colombia bordering to the north with thedepartment of La Guajira,to the east with theBolivarian Republic of Venezuela,to the west with thedepartment of Magdalena,to the southwest with theDepartment of Bolivarand to the south with the departments ofNorth SantanderandSantandercovering a total area of 22,905 km2.[8]
The majority of the Department is flat in 57% of the total area and 43% mountainous mainly in the Serranía del Perijá and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain ranges.[8]
Ecoregions
editThe Department of Cesar contains fiveEcoregions;theSerranía del Perijámountain range, the valley of theCesar River,theSierra Nevada de Santa Martamountain range, the valley of theMagdalena Riverand theCienaga de Zapatosamarshescomplex.[8]
Serranía del Perijá mountain range
editTheSerranía del Perijámountain range covers most of the eastern side of the Department of Cesar between its border with Venezuela and theDepartment of North Santander,approximately 300 km in length penetrating into theDepartment of La Guajirato the north and covering 27% of the total area of Cesar. The Serranía del Perijá covers, partially or totally the area of 17 municipalities in the Department of Cesar; Aguachica, Codazzi, Becerril, Chimichagua, Chiriguana, Curumani, Gonzalez, La Gloria, La Jagua de Ibirico, Los Robles La Paz, Manaure, Pailitas, Pelaya, Rio de Oro, San Alberto, San Diego and San Martin. There are also the indigenous reserves pertaining to theYukpaspeople; Iroka, Socorpa and Menkue-Misaya-La Pista; and to the Wiwas people; Caño Padilla, El Rosario-Bella Vista-Yucatán and Campoalegre.[9]
Approximately 70% of the mountain range preserves unique flora and fauna and some 20 rivers are born in the mountain range among other minor streams, flowing into the Department of Cesar and feeding the Magdalena and Cesar river basins and the Cienaga de Zapatosa marshes. The Colombian government declared it a National Forest Reserve.[9]
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range
edit
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range is an isolated mountain range located in the northwestern region of the Department of Cesar. The mountain range is shared with by Department of La Guajira, which covers the northern area, the Department of Magdalena to the western side and the Department of Cesar which covers the southern face, covering a total area of 16,615 km2(1'661,500 ha) of which 380,000 ha pertain to the Department of Cesar. The Cesar River and the western side of its basin is born on the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, including theGuatapuri,Badillo,Ariguani,Cesarito, Los Clavos, Garupal and Rio Seco rivers. The mountains are within the boundaries of the municipalities of Pueblo Bello, Valledupar, El Copey and Bosconia.[10]
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta was declared byUNESCOas a Biosphere Reserve on October 29, 1993.[11]
Valley of the Cesar river
editValley of the Magdalena river
editCienaga de Zapatosa marshes
editClimate
editClimate in the Department of Cesar presents variations in climate depending on altitude, as well as rainfall precipitations. Mountain climate in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía del Perijá become cooler with higher altitude, reaching freezing low temperatures on the snowy peaks. Lowlands average a temperature throughout the year of 28 °C or 82.4 °F.[12]These lower lands present a hot and drier climate, with annual precipitation less than 1,300 millimetres or 51 inches a year. The mountainous regions are characterized by low temperatures with snow on high altitude peaks and precipitation reaching more than 2,000 millimetres or 79 inches a year.
| Climate data for Valledupar | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 34.7 (94.5) |
35.6 (96.1) |
35.9 (96.6) |
35.6 (96.1) |
34.0 (93.2) |
34.2 (93.6) |
35.4 (95.7) |
35.1 (95.2) |
33.8 (92.8) |
32.6 (90.7) |
33.2 (91.8) |
33.6 (92.5) |
35.1 (93.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.4 (72.3) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.6 (74.5) |
24.1 (75.4) |
24.1 (75.4) |
24.0 (75.2) |
24.2 (75.6) |
24.0 (75.2) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.1 (73.6) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.6 (74.3) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 12 (0.5) |
10 (0.4) |
26 (1.0) |
71 (2.8) |
154 (6.1) |
82 (3.2) |
63 (2.5) |
116 (4.6) |
122 (4.8) |
199 (7.8) |
89 (3.5) |
28 (1.1) |
972 (38.3) |
| Source: Weatherbase[13][14] | |||||||||||||
History
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 340,657 | — |
| 1985 | 699,428 | +105.3% |
| 1993 | 827,219 | +18.3% |
| 2005 | 903,279 | +9.2% |
| 2018 | 1,200,574 | +32.9% |
| Source:[15] | ||
Pre-Columbian
editThe region was first inhabited by indigenous peoples known as Euparíes in the Valley of Upar and Guatapuríes in the Valley of the Cesar river, among these were the Orejones pertaining to the Tupe, Acanayutos pertaining to theMotilonand Alcoholados pertaining to theChimila.
Spanish chronicles describe the tribes as being part of a federation of tribes led by a single chief (Cacique), with the village ofEuparias the largest and central to the other villages. These tribes are believed to be related to theMesoamericanculture, theCaribsandArawaks,directly associated to theMuiscaculture in the Colombian eastern branch of theAndes.[16]
Archeological findings has shown that the indigenous in the area worked with stones and wood, including aboomerangshaped weapon found in a cemetery atLos Robles La Paz.[17]
Spanish conquest and colonization
editThe first European to explore the area was Spanish Captain Pedro de Vadillo, but GermanAmbrosio Alfíngersavagely conquered the region in 1531.[6][18]In 1550 the village of Valle de Upar was founded byHernando de SantanaandJuan de Castellanos.<[19]
Republican era
editIn 1813, María de la Concepción Loperena proclaimed the independence of Valledupar and donated 300 horses toSimón Bolívar.In 1829 Valledupar became aCantónof theProvince of Santa Marta.By Law 15 of 1850, Valledupar was segregated from Santa Marta becoming the Province of Valledupar. In 1857 became a province of the State of Magdalena and by Law of December 29, 1864 became the Department of Valledupar pertaining to State of Magdalena. On December 21, 1967 the Department of Cesar was created officially.[6]
Modern era
editFrom 1996 to 2006 paramilitary groups committed gross human rights violations affecting tens of thousands of victims in the Cesar mining region. Prodeco, a subsidiary ofGlencore,and the USDrummond Companycollaborated with the paramilitaries[20]in order to continue coal mining.[21]
Politics
editGovernment and politics
editGovernors
editDepartment Assembly
editAdministrative divisions
editMunicipalities
editThe Department of Cesar is formed by 25 municipalities, some 171 corregimientos, 990 veredas and 10 indigenous reserves.[22]
For administrative reasons the Department of Cesar is subdivided into 4 strategic regions[citation needed]:
- theNorthern Subregioncovering the municipalities of Valledupar, Codazzi, Pueblo Bello, La Paz, Manaure and San Diego;
- theNorthwestern Subregioncovering the municipalities of Bosconia, El Copey, El Paso and Astrea;
- theCentral Subregioncovering the municipalities of Curumani, Becerril, Chiriguana, La Jagua de Ibirico, Chimichagua, Tamalameque and Pailitas; and
- theSouthern Subregioncovering the municipalities of Aguachica, Gamarra, Gonzalez, La Gloria, Pelaya, Rio de Oro, San Alberto and San Martin.[8]
| Municipalities | Map |
|---|---|
|
Economy
edit
The economy of the César Department is sustained by the agricultural sector, secondly by a services industry following with commercial industry and mining.Cattle raisingis exploited extensively (using large farms), and for this reason large portions of forests have been chopped off to createcorrals.Inagriculture,plantationsofcotton,rice,sugar cane,oil palm,cassavaandplantain.Services are centered on commerce and the industry is represented byoil products,fatsandmilkderived products. As one of the biggestwater resourcesareas ofColombia,if not America, part of theMagdalena Rivercrosses the Department and helps create theCienaga de Zapatosa(ZapatosaMarsh) along with the Cesar river. It has a great potential to develop afishing industryalso.
The area betweenLa LomaandLa Jagua de Ibiricois the major coal-producing region of Colombia.[23]
Notes
edit- ^"Departamento: Información general".Gobernación del Cesar. Archived fromthe originalon 17 February 2013.
- ^"DANE".Archived fromthe originalon November 13, 2009.RetrievedFebruary 13,2013.
- ^"Producto Interno Bruto por departamento",dane.gov.co
- ^"Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab".hdi.globaldatalab.org.Retrieved2018-09-13.
- ^"Estado de avance de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio en el departamento de Cesar y en la ciudad de Valledupar, (Progress on the Millennium Development Goals in the Cesar department and the city of Valledupar)"(in Spanish). PNUD Colombia – Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina. January 2012.[dead link]
- ^abc"History of Cesar"(in Spanish). Agustin Codazzi Geographic Institute. Archived fromthe originalon 24 October 2003.
- ^"LABLAA - Luis Galvis: Don Gonzalo"(in Spanish). Archived fromthe originalon 2009-09-14.Retrieved2008-04-09.
- ^abcd(in Spanish)Government of the Department of Cesar: The TerritoryArchivedOctober 23, 2007, at theWayback Machine
- ^ab(in Spanish)Government of the Department of Cesar: Serrania del PerijaArchivedMarch 27, 2009, at theWayback Machine
- ^(in Spanish)Government of the Department of Cesar: Sierra Nevada de Santa MartaArchivedMarch 27, 2009, at theWayback Machine
- ^(in Spanish)UNESCO: Buritaca 200 - Ciudad Perdida - Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
- ^"Climate of the Department of Cesar"(in Spanish). Agustin Codazzi Geographic Institute. Archived fromthe originalon 24 October 2003.
- ^"Worldweather: Valledupar, Colombia".Weatherbase. 2008.Retrieved2008-04-08.[dead link]
- ^*Climatological information is based on monthly averages for the 30-year period 1971-2000. The averaging period for climatological information and the definition of "Mean Number of Precipitation/Rain Days" quoted in this web site may be different for different countries. Care should be taken when city climatologies are compared.
- ^"Reloj de Población".DANE.Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadísitica. Archived fromthe originalon 16 January 2018.Retrieved6 July2017.
- ^Castro Trespalacios 1979,p. 22
- ^Castro Trespalacios 1979,p. 23
- ^Castro Trespalacios 1979,p. 21
- ^LABLAA: Department of Cesar; History
- ^Moor, Marianne (June 2014).The dark side of coal paramilitary violence in the mining region of Cesar, Colombia.OCLC1176254365.Retrieved2022-04-28.
- ^Deutsche Welle (2014-07-09)."Blutige Kohle aus Kolumbien".DW.COM(in German).Retrieved2022-04-28.
- ^Government of Colombia: Human Rights in the Department of Cesar; municipalitiesArchivedMay 29, 2008, at theWayback Machine
- ^"Mining Atlas - Explore the World of Mining".
References
edit- Dangon Ovalle, Jaime (November 1987),El Cesar, Hijo del Amor,Valledupar: Departamento del Cesar.
- Gutierrez Hinojosa, Tomas Dario (2000),Valledupar Musica de una Historia,Bogotá: Editorial Grijalbo LTDA,ISBN958-639-175-2
- Araujonoguera, Consuelo (2002),Trilogia Vallenata,Colombia: Proyecto Editorial Babilonia,ISBN958-33-3360-3
- Castro Trespalacios, Pedro (1979),Culturas Aborigenes Cesarences e Independencia de Valle de Upar,Bogotá: Casa de la Cultura de Valledupar
External links
edit- Cesar 30 Años de Progreso- Gobernacion del Cesar (1997) booklet
- Official website
- INGEOMINAS: Geography of the Department of Cesar[permanent dead link]
- Poverty in the Department of Cesar
- Forced displacement in the Department of Cesar[permanent dead link]