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'La Guajira' () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of its namesake peninsula, in the northeast region of the country, facing the Caribbean Sea and Venezuela. Its capital is Riohacha.
Various indigenous tribes populate the vast arid plains, such as the Wayuu people, noted for their beautiful woven bags and the strong alcoholic spirit ''chirinchi''. Guajira tribes feature prominently in ''Papillon'' by Henri Charriere, about an escaped convict who takes refuge with one such tribe. The largest employer in the department is the Cerrejón coal mine, which produced 24.9 million tons of export coal in 2004. A popular tourist destination is Cabo de la Vela, a small fishing village located on the tip of the peninsula.

Contents

Geography

Municipalities

External links

References

Geography

The northern part of the department is arid plains, the Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub, in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta which rise to 5,775 meters in the south. The Sinú Valley dry forests lie in between.
In the far south are the headwaters of the Cesar River.

Municipalities

# Albania
# Barrancas
# Dibulla
# Distracción
# El Molino
# Fonseca
# Hatonuevo
# La Jagua del Pilar
# Maicao
# Manaure
# Riohacha
# San Juan del Cesar
# Uribia
# Urumita
# Villanueva

External links

★ Government of La Guajira official website

References

1. http://www.dane.gov.co/files/censo2005/regiones/guajira/guajira.pdf