Distracción () is a town and municipality in the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

La Guajira La Guajira () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The capital city of the departm ...

. Founded in 1845 by a man from neighboring Barrancas named Antonio María Vidal on the right margin of the

Ranchería River The Ranchería River ( es, Río Ranchería) is a river located in northern La Guajira Department, Colombia. Born in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta southern steps flows south, abruptly turns northeast and then north where it finally flows into th ...

. Government of La Guajira: Distraccion
The town celebrates the Festival de los Laureles (Spanish for Festival of the

Laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, Glossary of botanical terms#glabrous, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as ...

). The town's economy relies mostly in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and the rudimentary exploitation of a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

mine.

Geography

The municipality of Distracción is located in the

Guajira Peninsula The Guajira Peninsula ( es, Península de La Guajira, links=no, also spelled ''Goajira'', mainly in colonial period texts, guc, Hikükariby) is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean. It is the northernm ...

, on the Valley of Upar formed by the mountains of the

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...

and

Serranía del Perijá The Serranía del Perijá, Cordillera de Perijá or Sierra de Perijá is a mountain range, an extension of the eastern Andean branch ( Cordillera Oriental), in northern South America, between Colombia and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), offici ...

. It has a total area of 220 km² bordering to the north with the municipality of

Riohacha Riohacha (; Wayuu: ) is a city in the Riohacha Municipality in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia by the mouth of the Ranchería River and the Caribbean Sea. It is the capital city of the La Guajira Department. It has a sandy beach waterf ...

; to the east with the municipality of Fonseca; to the south with the municipalities of

San Juan del Cesar San Juan del Cesar is a municipality and town located in the La Guajira Department, Colombia. Etymology San Juan Bautista del Cesar name in en, John the Baptist and ''Chet-tzar'' or ''Sasare'' indigenous language for calm water, the name of the ...

and Fonseca and to the west with the municipality of San Juan del Cesar.

Politics

Defense

The

Colombian National Army The National Army of Colombia ( es, Ejército Nacional de Colombia) is the land warfare service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia. With over 361,420 active personnel as of 2020, it is the largest and oldest service branch in Colombia, an ...

has two major units in the department part of the 1st Division one of these is the 2nd Mechanized Cavalry Battalion also known as the ''Batallon Rondon''. 1st Division of the Colombian National Army: Second Brigade and Tenth Brigade
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References

External links

Distraccion official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Distraccion, La Guajira Municipalities of La Guajira Department