Department of Bolívar

The department of Bolívar is located in the Caribbean or Atlantic Coast region. Its capital is Cartagena de Indias, the main tourist destination in Colombia.

It has 46 municipalities and its name is a tribute to the liberator Simón Bolívar.

It borders to the north with the Atlantic Ocean, to the west with Córdoba and Sucre, to the east with the departments of Atlántico, Magdalena and Cesar, to the south with Santander and Antioquia.

Its astronomical position is between 7°02′ and 10°48′ north latitude and 73°45′ and 75°43′ west longitude.

It is the fifth most populated department in Colombia with more than 2 million inhabitants in an area of 25,978 km².

Something very important about the department of Bolivar is that it became one of the nine original states of the United States of Colombia, contributing a large part of the country's colonial history.

IMPORTANT DATA

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CAPITAL

CARTAGENA DE ÍNDIAS

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INHABITANTS

2’122.021

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DEMONYM

BOLIVARENSE

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AREA

25,978 km²

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GOVERNOR

Yamil Hernando Arana Padauí

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OFFICIAL WEBSITE

www.bolivar.gov.co

Map of the Department of Bolívar

Next, the municipalities of Bolívar located on the map:

Map by: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA

SUBREGIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BOLÍVAR

The department has 6 subregions which are:

• Depresión Momposina
• Dique
• Loba
• Magdalena Medio
• La Mojana
• Montes de María

MUNICIPALITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BOLÍVAR

The department has 46 municipalities listed below in their respective subregion:

Depresión Momposina

• Cicuco
• Hatillo de Loba
• Margarita
• Mompós
• San Fernando
• Talaiga Nuevo

Dique

• Cartagena de Indías
• Arjona
• Arroyohondo
• Calamar
• Clemencia
• Mahates
• San Cristóbal
• San Estanislao
• Santa Catalina
• Santa Rosa de Lima
• Soplaviento
• Turbaco
• Turbaná
• Villanueva

Loba

• Altos del Rosario
• Barranco de Loba
• El Peñón
• Norosí
• Regidor
• Río Viejo
• San Martín de Loba

Magdalena Medio

• Arenal
• Cantagallo
• Morales
• San Pablo
• Santa Rosa del sur
• Simití

La Mojana

• Achí
• Magangué
• Montecristo
• Pinillos
• San Jacinto del Cauca
• Tiquisio

Montes de María

• El Carmen de Bolívar
• Córdoba
• El Guamo
• María La Baja
• San Jacinto
• San Juan Nepomuceno
• Zambrano

HISTORY

During the pre-Hispanic period, it was inhabited by indigenous Mocanaes of the Carib family. The first expeditionary to arrive in these lands was Rodrigo de Bastidas in 1501, but the main expeditionary was the conquistador Pedro de Heredía, who founded the city of Cartagena in 1533, due to the fact that the city was attacked on several occasions, several military forts were built; on November 11, independence was proclaimed and in 1815 it was besieged by Pablo Morillo, in 1857 it became a Sovereign State and in 1886 the department of Bolívar.

RELIEF

This area of the country is mostly flat, covered with grass, cut by not very high elevations such as the Loma de Los Colorados and the Serranías de San Lucas, San Jacinto, Montecristo, Sacramento, etc. In relation to the coasts in the department, islands such as the Rosario archipelago, Barú and Tierra Bomba stand out, also important are the points of Canoas, Barú, Corralito; the bays of Cartagena and Barbacoas; the marshes of María La Baja, Quintanilla, La Vega, among others.

HYDROGRAPHY

It is a department that, in terms of water sources, has the Magdalena, Cauca and San Jorge rivers, the most important in the area.

Other rivers that run through the department's territory are:

• Cimitarra
• Simití
• Teguí

CLIMATE

The department of Bolívar has a tropical savanna climate where high temperatures and high rainfall are constant.

ECONOMY

Due to the characteristics of the department's soil, a good part of it is used for livestock and the cultivation of cotton, yuca, plantain, coconut, rice, coffee, and sugarcane.

Another branch of the economy is industry, especially tourism, fishing, oil exploitation, and wood.

NATURAL RESERVES

In the department of Bolívar, there is a natural reserve: the Corales del Rosario National Natural Park, which has an area of 17,800 hectares where corals and unique submarine species in the country are found.

ANTHEM

Lyrics:

Donaldo Bossa Herazo
Music: Luis Eduardo González

CHORUS

Bolívar, your sacred land
our patriotic blood fertilized
and the waves of the sea alleviated
the tremendous pain of the torment.

I

To Bolívar, dear homeland
we adore with noble passion
and we fight without pause and with vigor
for its peace, justice, and love.
We watch over your grandiose insignia
with intrepid zeal for creation
Yellow, green, and red
The colors of your flag

II

Bolívar's glorious name
shows us paths of honor
and we face the days of the future
with pride, courage, and ardor.
Our mountains are historical landmarks
our rivers development and coat of arms
our great cities and towns
the treasure that a chest keeps.