Municipalities of La Guajira
Complete list of the 15 municipalities of La Guajira in alphabetical order, by population, climate and founding date. All the information of each municipality.
The department of La Guajira belongs to the Caribbean region of Colombia and occupies the northeastern tip of the country, being the northernmost point of all South America. With an area of 20,848 km², its landscape varies radically from the arid deserts of Alta Guajira —where the trade winds shape sand dunes— to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the humid forests of the south. The department is the ancestral territory of the Wayúu people, the largest indigenous community in Colombia, which preserves its language, Wayuunaiki, and its millenary traditions. Uribia, one of its municipalities, is the largest municipality in Colombia with more than 8,000 km². The contrast between the aridity of the north and the exuberance of the south makes La Guajira one of the most unique and biodiverse departments in Colombia.
LIST OF MUNICIPALITIES OF LA GUAJIRA IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
Below is the list of the 15 municipalities of La Guajira in alphabetical order:
- Albania
- Barrancas
- Distracción
- El Molino
- Fonseca
- Hatonuevo
- La Jagua del Pilar
- La Jagua
- Maicao
- Manaure
- Riohacha
- San Juan del Cesar
- Uribia
- Urumita
- Villanueva
Below is the list of the 15 municipalities of La Guajira including the subregion to which they belong:
| Municipality Name | Subregion |
| Uribia | Alta Guajira |
| Manaure | Alta Guajira |
| Maicao | Media Guajira |
| Riohacha | Media Guajira |
| Albania | Media Guajira |
| Hatonuevo | Media Guajira |
| Barrancas | Baja Guajira |
| Fonseca | Baja Guajira |
| San Juan del Cesar | Baja Guajira |
| Distracción | Baja Guajira |
| El Molino | Baja Guajira |
| Urumita | Baja Guajira |
| La Jagua del Pilar | Baja Guajira |
| La Jagua | Baja Guajira |
| Villanueva | Baja Guajira |
MUNICIPALITIES OF LA GUAJIRA BY POPULATION
| Name | Inhabitants |
| Riohacha | 280000 |
| Maicao | 185000 |
| Uribia | 165000 |
| Manaure | 90000 |
| San Juan del Cesar | 42000 |
| Fonseca | 38000 |
| Barrancas | 32000 |
| Albania | 28000 |
| Villanueva | 25000 |
| Hatonuevo | 22000 |
| Urumita | 14000 |
| Distracción | 11000 |
| El Molino | 9500 |
| La Jagua | 7800 |
| La Jagua del Pilar | 3200 |
MUNICIPALITIES OF LA GUAJIRA BY CLIMATE
| Municipality Name | Average Temperature |
| Uribia | 35º c |
| Manaure | 34º c |
| Maicao | 32º c |
| Riohacha | 30º c |
| Albania | 30º c |
| Hatonuevo | 29º c |
| Barrancas | 28º c |
| Fonseca | 27º c |
| San Juan del Cesar | 27º c |
| Distracción | 26º c |
| Villanueva | 25º c |
| El Molino | 24º c |
| Urumita | 23º c |
| La Jagua | 22º c |
| La Jagua del Pilar | 21º c |
DATE OF FOUNDATION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF LA GUAJIRA
The founding history of La Guajira is marked by the Wayúu resistance against Spanish colonization, which delayed the establishment of stable settlements compared to other Caribbean departments. Riohacha, founded in 1535 by Nikolaus Federmann, is one of the oldest settlements in the American continent, famous during the colonial period for being the main pearl export port. Several municipalities in the south have later foundations, during the 18th and 19th centuries. Complete list:
| Municipality Name | Date of Foundation |
| Riohacha | 1535 |
| Barrancas | 1580 |
| Fonseca | 1784 |
| San Juan del Cesar | 1849 |
| Villanueva | 1850 |
| Urumita | 1852 |
| El Molino | 1853 |
| Distracción | 1856 |
| La Jagua | 1869 |
| Maicao | 1927 |
| Albania | 1945 |
| Hatonuevo | 1968 |
| Manaure | 1972 |
| Uribia | 1935 |
| La Jagua del Pilar | 1999 |
MUNICIPALITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LA GUAJIRA
The 15 municipalities of La Guajira are distributed across three well-differentiated subregions. Alta Guajira, dominated by Uribia and Manaure, is mostly desert and semi-arid, with extensive salt flats in Manaure that constitute one of the most important salt deposits in the country. In this area, Wayúu communities predominate and access to many territories is exclusively by dirt roads or through rancherías. Media Guajira, where Riohacha and Maicao are located, concentrates commercial and administrative activity; Maicao is famous for its intense international commercial activity, with a significant Arab community. Baja Guajira is more humid, with agricultural and livestock vocation, and its municipalities are connected by the Caribbean trunk road. The department has a total area of 20,848 km² with a relatively low population density given the vastness of its territory.