Amazonas Department

Department of Amazonas (Spanish: Departamento del Amazonas, Spanish pronunciation: [amaˈsonas]) is a department of Colombia in the south of the country. It is the largest department in area while also having the 3rd smallest population. Its capital is Leticia. Its name comes from the Amazon River that drains much in the department and the rainforest that covers a large part of the department.

Toponymy

The department name comes from the name of the Amazon River. The river was named by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana (1511 - 1546), who, on his voyage of exploration, said he was attacked by "fierce females" looked like Amazons of the Greek mythology, however, the existence of a female warrior tribe in that time hasn’t been demonstrated and it is possible that they were long-haired Native American warriors who impressed the conqueror who called the jungle and the river with the name of Amazon.

Culture

The following ethnic groups are found in the department: Bora, Cocama, Macuna, Mirana, Okaina, Ticunas, Tucano, Uitoto, Yagua and Yucuna, among others. These groups are more than 5,000 years old.

Flag of Amazonas Department

The flag of Amazonas was officially adopted by means of the Commissarial Decree Nº 090 of August 21, 1974.

Design

The dimensions of the flag are 2.10 meters in length by 1.30 meters in width. The green top stripe is 90 cm in width, the yellow mustard stripe is 8 cm with two fimbriated stripes in black 0.5 cm each, and the white stripe is 32 cm. The flag is defaced by three charges all in sable, the Indian represents the people of Amazonas, the jaguar its fauna and natural resources, and the star represents the capital city of Leticia.

The Gubernatorial Flag is not defaced but charged with the Coat of arms of Amazonas in the centre of the upper band and it serves as the Governor's Standard.

See also

References