Amazonas is one of the 32 departments of Colombia , located in the southernmost part of the country, mostly south of the equator. Amazonas is the largest department in terms of land area and is composed entirely of territory of the Amazon Rainforest. Its northern part is limited to the departments of Caquetá and Vaupés and northwest with the department of Putumayo. The rest of its territory is international border; on the east by Brazil and south and southeast by Peru. Amazonas is the department with greater length in the country's international boundaries.

The southern portion of the department, south of the Putumayo River, is named "Amazon Trapeze". Which includes the triple border of Colombia, Peru and Brazil, Colombia access to the Amazon River and the capital of the department, the city of Leticia.

Etymology

The department name comes from the name of the great Amazon River. The river in turn was named after the conquering Spanish Francisco de Orellana, which on its journey of exploration, said he was attacked by "fierce women". However the existence of a female warrior tribe in that time has not been demonstrated and it is possible that Native Americans were long-haired warriors who impressed the conqueror who called the forests and the river Amazon.

History of Amazonas

As a Department, the Amazonas is one of the most recent in Colombia. Until 1991 was part of the so-called "national territories" of the country, an entity much discussed, but eliminated with the territorial redistribution of the new Constitution. It is perhaps one of the Colombian departments where it has been preserved with more grace the presence of the Amerindian peoples of the linguistic family Arawak.

Geography of Amazonas

The department of Amazonas has an area of 109,665 km², which in terms of extension is similar to that of Cuba. It is densely covered with forests and crossed by rivers that are long and flowing tributaries of the Amazon River. Its territory has numerous lakes and wetlands. The department consists of two parts: the Amazonian Trapezium you do as a peninsula which is limited to the south by the Amazon River and the rest of the department.