The Guajira Peninsula on the left of Gulf of Venezuela and south of the Caribbean sea. The Gulf of Venezuela or gulf of Coquivacoa is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere

Guajira Peninsula (Spanish: Peninsula de La Guajira) is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean sea. A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by Water but connected to Mainland via an Isthmus. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere It is the northernmost peninsula in South America and has an area of 25,000 km² extending from the Manaure Bay (Colombia) in the Caribbean sea to the Calabazo Ensenada in the Gulf of Venezuela (Venezuela). South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a The Gulf of Venezuela or gulf of Coquivacoa is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón Most of the territory is part of Colombia, making part of the Department of La Guajira, while the remaining strip pertains to the Venezuelan State of Zulia. Colombia is a unitary republic conformed by thirty-two departments ( Spanish: departamentos, sing The Department of La Guajira or simply La Guajira (la ɰwa'hiɾa is a department of Colombia. Venezuela is divided into 23 states (estados, 1 Capital District (Distrito Capital and the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias Federales Estado Zulia is one of Venezuela 's 23 states ''(estados''. The state capital is Maracaibo. The northern most part of the peninsula is called Punta Gallinas (12° 28´ N) and is also considered the northernmost part of mainland South America. The Department of La Guajira or simply La Guajira (la ɰwa'hiɾa is a department of Colombia. ^[1]

Climate

The region receives the flow of the Trade winds from the northern hemisphere and forms along the northeastern coast of Venezuela and the Antilles, the Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub. The trade winds (also called trades) are the prevailing pattern of easterly winds found in the Tropics near the Earth's Equator. The Antilles (the same in French; Antillas in Spanish; Antillen in Dutch) refers to the islands forming the greater part of the The Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub is a xeric shrubland Ecoregion in Colombia, covering an estimated area of 150 The Trade winds cause a resurgence of the deep littoral waters and makes the sea more rich in living species on the western side of the peninsula. The northeastern flank of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range acts as a barrier that generates abundant rainfall in its steps and originate the Rancheria River, the only major river in the area. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. The Ranchería River is a River located in northern La Guajira Department, Colombia. Climate and vegetation varies from south to north, presenting a hyper humid jungle weather in the southern part (3000 mm a year) to the desertic areas in the north (300 mm a year). A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation.

In the northern area there is a small range of mountains called Macuira that reaches 900 m over sea level that trap some of the Trade winds and cause mist. Serranía de Macuira is a mountain range in northern Colombia located in the municipality of Uribia, Guajira Peninsula and part of the Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in Air. It can occur as part of natural Weather or Volcanic activity and is common in cold air above Most of the mountain range is a protected area called National Natural Park of Macuira. Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their environmental cultural or similar value Serranía de Macuira is a mountain range in northern Colombia located in the municipality of Uribia, Guajira Peninsula and part of the Nearby there is also the 80 km² Flamingos Fauna and Flora Sanctuary. Flamingos Fauna and Flora Sanctuary (Santuario de Fauna y Flora los Flamencos has been a natural park since 1977

The peninsula is mainly inhabited by members of the native tribe of the Wayuus which use the plains to raise cattle, sheeps, goats and horses. The Indigenous peoples in Colombia ( pueblos indígenas in Spanish) comprise a large number of distinct Ethnic Wayuu language Wayuu (also Wayu, Wayúu, Guajiro, Wahiro) is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula The descendants of the Spanish colonizers settled in the southeastern part of the peninsula (sometimes referred to as the Padilla Province) were the land is more fertile due to the proximity to other river basins, such as the cesar river basin and is subject to large plantations of cotton, sorghum and cattle ranching. The Cesar River is a river in northern Colombia which is a part of the Magdalena Basin.

Since the 1980s the central area of the peninsula was subject to the exploration and exploitation of coal and natural gas in the area of Cerrejon and of oil in the littoral. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, Cerrejón is a coal mine located in the Guajira department in the north of Colombia. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit

References

Internet

Books

• (Spanish) Henri Candelier. 1892. Riohacha y los Indios Guajiros. Crónica de un viajero y explorador francés quien durante tres años, 1889-1892, recorrió La Guajira.

• (Spanish) Martha Ligia Castellanos, Luis Carlos Pardo L. 2000. Caracterización y primera aproximación a la determinación del índice de biodiversidad en los suelos de la cuenca del arroyo Mekijanao, Serranía de la Macuira, Alta Guajira. En: Juan Carlos Pérez (editor) X Congreso Nacional de la Ciencia del Suelo. Programa y resúmenes. El suelo un componente del medio natural. Medellín, Octubre 11 al 13 de 2000

• (Spanish) Edith González, Gabriel Guillot, Néstor Miranda, Diana Pombo (editores). 1990. Perfil Ambiental de Colombia. Colciencias. Escala. Bogotá.

• (Spanish) Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi. 1996. Diccionario Geográfico de Colombia. Edición en CD-ROM. Bogotá, Colombia.

• Thomas Stadtmüller. 1987. Cloud Forests in the Humid Tropics. A Bibliographic Review. The United Nations University, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza. Turrialba, Costa Rica. 82 pp.