Quindío Department

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Quindío
Department of Colombia

Image:Flag of Quindío.svg	Image:Blank.png
(Detail)	(Detail)

Motto: Joven Rico y Poderoso (Young, Wealthy and Mighty)

Image:Quindío, Colombia (localización).png

Capital

Armenia

Governor

Mrs. Amparo Arbelaez Escalante

Area

1,845 km²

Population
- Total (2003)
- Density

613,375
332 people/km²

Adjective

quindiano

Quindío is a department of Colombia. It is in the western central region of the country. Its capital is Armenia. Its famous by the quality of the coffee plantations, and touristic landmarks.

Quindío is the smallest department in Colombia and second favorite vacation site visited in the country, being Cartagena the most visited in Colombia.

Located in western-central area of the country, crossed by the Andes mountains.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Quindío Wax Palm Tree
4 Economy
5 Municipalities
6 Governors
7 External links

[edit] History

The entire area was inhabited in the precolumbian period for the Quimbaya indigenous culture. 14 October /1889: Armenia foundation. 1905, creation of Caldas. department. 1908, it's annexed to Caldas department. 1966, January 16. it's separated as an autonomous department itself.

[edit] Geography

Most of its surface is occupied for the western face of Cordillera Central of Colombian Andes. Highest mountain: Nevado del Quindío, (quindío snow mountain) 5.150 m high.

There are in this department about 1.845 km² of mountain landscapes, with many Rainforests and Guadua bamboo forests. The ground is enriched with ancient volcanic eruptions, rising its fertility, there are also many rivers and minor water streams, including the Quindio river and the Cocora valley located in this river origin.

The weather has a wide range, given the variations on termic floors. It has a high annual rain precipitation (around 2500 mm/year) because the humidity of winds from the Pacific Ocean stopped by the Andes

[edit] Quindío Wax Palm Tree

Image:Colwachspalme01.jpg

With law 61 of 1985, Colombian Congress adopted Quindío Wax Palm Tree [Ceroxylon quindiuense (Karsten) Wendl.] a local endangered specie of high altitude adapted palm tree as National Tree. As ratified on September 16 for the current president of colombia, Belisario Betancur in the following terms: "1º. It's declared as national tree and symbol of our fatherland the specie commonly known as quindio wax palm tree, scientific name ceroxylon quindiuense. 2º. National Government Is faculted to buy as many lands as needed to create wildlife sanctuaries with the purpose of preserve this national symbol and its natural environment. 3º. Chopping down the wax palm tree is forbidden and punished with fine and jail"."

Wax palm tree was nearly extincted for the extraction of the resinous substance that it exudes. Also its leaves were widely used for the celebration of Holy Week processions specially the Palm Sunday