Department of Norte de Santander

The department of Norte de Santander, whose capital is Cúcuta, is located in the northeastern part of the country, in the Andean region.

It borders to the north and east with Venezuela, to the south with Boyacá, and to the west with Santander and Cesar.

This department is located between 6° 58′ and 9° 18′ of north latitude and 72° 03′ and 73°35′ of west longitude from Greenwich and an altitude of 320 msnm.

Norte de Santander is full of history, since in Cúcuta the consolidation of the current Colombia and Venezuela took place, giving rise to the Gran Colombia on October 3, 1821.

The department was created in the Gran Colombia. Its natural resources and geographical location have made it an important economic and commercial axis of the country.

IMPORTANT DATA

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CAPITAL

SAN JOSÉ DE CÚCUTA

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POPULATION

1’391.366

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GENTILICIO

NORTESANTANDEREANO

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SURFACE AREA

21648 km²

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GOVERNOR

William Villamizar Laguado

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OFFICIAL WEBSITE

SUBREGIONES DE NORTE DE SANTANDER

The department of Norte de Santander has a total of 40 municipalities, distributed in 6 subregions, which are:

• Norte
• Occidente
• Metropolitana
• Centro
• Sur-occidente
• Sur-oriente

MUNICIPIOS DE NORTE DE SANTANDER

The following 40 municipalities of Norte de Santander in list including the subregion to which it belongs:

Flag	Subregion
Arboledas	Center
Cucutilla	Center
Gramalote	Center
Lourdes	Center
Salazar de Las Palmas	Center
Santiago	Center
Villa Caro	Center
Cúcuta	Metropolitan
El Zulia	Metropolitan
Los Patios	Metropolitan
Puerto Santander	Metropolitan
San Cayetano	Metropolitan
Villa del Rosario	Metropolitan
Bucarasica	North
El Tarra	North
Sardinata	North
Tibú	North
Ábrego	West
Cáchira	West
Convención	West
El Carmen	West
Hacarí	West
La Esperanza	West
La Playa de Belén	West
Ocaña	West
San Calixto	West
Teorama	West
Cácota	South-west
Chitagá	South-west
Mutiscua	South-west
Pamplona	South-west
Pamplonita	South-west
Santo Domingo de Silos	South-west
Bochalema	South-east
Chinácota	South-east
Durania	South-east
Herrán	South-east
Labateca	South-east

HISTORY

This area was inhabited by Chibcha Chitarero Indians and Motilones descendants of the Caribs. The first conqueror to set foot in this territory was the German Ambrosio Alfínger in 1530, who was killed by the indigenous people. In 1535, Pedro de Usúa and Otún Velasco founded Chinacota.

The conquest and population process occurred as such, only in 1549 with Usúa, who founded Pamplona.

July 14, 1910, it was created as a department.

RELIEF

It is a rugged terrain and is crossed by the Eastern Cordillera with extensions such as the Ocaña table, from the cordillera the San Turbán knot and the Catatumbo Valley slope are detached, which occupies 87% of the territory, has slopes of diverse inclination, difficult access heights and deep canyons.

The flat area occupies 13% of the extension of the department, presents low hills, valley bottoms of the Zulia, Pamplona and Táchira rivers, among others. The Bobalí hill, the Tibú sierra and the Cachira and Tamú páramos.

HYDROLOGY

It is composed mainly of the Catatumbo and the very caudalous affluents, in addition to finding smaller rivers such as Sardinata, Zulia Margua and Cubugón with their respective affluents.

CLIMATE

Half of the department is warm, while the remaining surface constitutes a medium climate and a last part a cold and páramo climate, the average temperatures are 30°C in the hot valleys of Zulia and Catarumbo and 3°C in the páramos.

This climatic variety has also determined agricultural productivity.

ECONOMY

It is a coffee region, in the department also plantain, yuca, potato, arracacha, corn, wheat, sugarcane, rice, citrus fruits, onion, fique are cultivated.

Tobacco is another product of the area. They have livestock production and in relation to cattle, 92% of the animals are for breeding and fattening, while 8% is used in milk production.

This department is also rich in mineral resources, has gold, copper, iron, uranium, aluminum, silver, barite, and fluorite. There are oil deposits in Tibú.

NATURAL RESERVES

This department offers a multiplicity of natural landscapes and sites impregnated with history and resources, ranging from high mountains and lakes. The Natural Monument of the Estoraques stands out

HYMN

Lyrics: Teodoro Gutiérrez Calderón

Music: José Rozo Contreras

CHORUS

Brave sons of the North,
let us sing with our soul;
life for glory,
glory for the homeland!
The homeland, the homeland, the homeland.

I

In our village,
the man of laws,
without kings or viceroy
formed his proud being.
If our glories are his
and if he made us great
across the Andes
let us shout ¡Santander!

II

Bolívar, whose genius
gave us his spark
the mark left here
by his horse.
The land is our gold,
peace is our goal,
war is our dream
in search of the laurel (bis).

III

We are great in all,
oh noble austere race
that cares for its flag,
language, history, and cross
let no one take a single inch
of our land
as long as the sun gives us its light in the sky! (bis).

IV

We will give everything for you,
Colombia, in your right:
Here is our chest
and inside our heart.
The mother who cries for us…
the daughter who loves us…
Let us march, for the epic canyon calls us!

See The Andean Region of Colombia

See The Departments of Colombia

See The Natural Regions of Colombia