Puerto Inírida
Encyclopedia
Inírida, formerly Puerto Inírida, is the capital city, and a municipality, of the department
of Guainía
in Colombia
. It was established in 1963 on the site of the small village of Obando, at the time in the municipality of San Felipe. The municipality was renamed in 1974. The municipal population of 10,891 (census 2005) is mostly indigenous and accounts for about a third of the department's population.
stronghold.
at the confluence of the Inírida River
and Guaviare River
, most of the territory of the municipality of Puerto Inírida is river terrace and bottomland, although there are some hills. It is just 30 km from the Venezuela
n border.
of the young chiquichiqui palm (Bactris speciosa), used for rope, and the rattan
known as "Yaré" used for furniture and baskets.
and one flight a week to and from Villavicencio
. However, the San Fernando de Atabapo
airport in Venezuela is just 30 km away. There is also a cargo airline that flies twice a week from Bogotà only. The airport was formerly known as Aeropuerto Obando. It is also possible to get to Inirida by the river, but the trip is too long and costs almost the same as the flight; besides, if you go by the river it will take you several hours, or even days, depending o the type of craft that you take. This makes the planes a better and faster option to travel to this town.
Departments of Colombia
Colombia is an unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District . Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly , elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods...
of Guainía
Guainía Department
Guainía is a department of Colombia. It is in the east of the country, bordering Venezuela and Brazil. Its capital is Inirida. In 1963 Guainía was split off from Vaupés. The northern part and the Inírida River are included in the Orinoco river basin; the rest is part of Amazonia...
in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. It was established in 1963 on the site of the small village of Obando, at the time in the municipality of San Felipe. The municipality was renamed in 1974. The municipal population of 10,891 (census 2005) is mostly indigenous and accounts for about a third of the department's population.
History
Prior to 1960 there was little development in the area which was sparsely populated by almost entirely indigenous people. However, in the 1990s and 2000s with increased exploitation of the area’s natural resources, efforts have been made to control the local population. The increased military presence was in part because the area was deemed to be a FARCRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
stronghold.
Geography
Located in the llanosLlanos
The Llanos is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the Flooded grasslands and savannas Biome....
at the confluence of the Inírida River
Inírida River
-References:*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993....
and Guaviare River
Guaviare River
The Guaviare is a tributary of the Orinoco located in Colombia.The Guaviare has its source in two other rivers, the Ariari and the Guayabero, which in turn have their own sources in the eastern part of the Andes. At long, it is the longest river on the Orinoco and is navigable for of its total...
, most of the territory of the municipality of Puerto Inírida is river terrace and bottomland, although there are some hills. It is just 30 km from the Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n border.
Economy
The main economic activities in the municipality, aside from government, are agriculture, fishing and cattle raising. Agriculture includes subsistence farming, the production of fiber from the petiolesPetiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
of the young chiquichiqui palm (Bactris speciosa), used for rope, and the rattan
Rattan
Rattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...
known as "Yaré" used for furniture and baskets.
Demographics
The society of Inírida is composed by a 53% of indigenous people; Curripacos, Puinaves and Piapocos. A 30% by colonizers that are people coming from the other parts of Colombia, and occasionally from the surrounding countries such as Venezuela, and a 17% by other indigenous ethnic groups.Airports
The local airport, known as Aeropuerto Cesar Gaviria Trujillo (honoring a former Colombian president), runway is, as of 2007, serviced by one airline, Satena, which has three flights a week to and from BogotáBogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
and one flight a week to and from Villavicencio
Villavicencio
Villavicencio is a city and municipality in Colombia, capital of the Department of Meta, with 361,058 inhabitants. The city is located at 4°08S, 73°40W, 75 km southeast of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá by the Guatiquía river...
. However, the San Fernando de Atabapo
San Fernando de Atabapo
San Fernando de Atabapo was the capital city of Venezuela's Amazonas state until the early 1900s. The population in 1997 was approximately 5,000....
airport in Venezuela is just 30 km away. There is also a cargo airline that flies twice a week from Bogotà only. The airport was formerly known as Aeropuerto Obando. It is also possible to get to Inirida by the river, but the trip is too long and costs almost the same as the flight; besides, if you go by the river it will take you several hours, or even days, depending o the type of craft that you take. This makes the planes a better and faster option to travel to this town.