El Molino ( en, The

Mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

) is a town and municipality located in the Colombian Department of

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 ...

. The town is known for having the colonial church Ermita de San Lucas, considered a National Monument of Colombia. Catholic.net: Ermita de San Lucas en El Molino-Guajira (Colombia)
/ref> The town also celebrates the '' Festival del Cantante'' (Spanish for Festival of the Singer). It became a municipality in 1989.

Geography

The municipality is within the Valley formed by 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 ...

mountains and the

Cesar River The Cesar River ( es, Río Cesar) is a river in northern Colombia which is a part of the Magdalena Basin. It flows through the Cesar-Ranchería Basin and separates the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta from the mountain ranges of the Serranía del ...

. The municipality is located on the mountain steps of the Serranía del Perijá covering a total area of 190 km² and at 240 meters over sea level. Government of La Guajira: Geography of El Molino
The municipality of El Molino is located in the southern part of the Department of La Guajira limiting to the west and north with the municipality 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 ...

; to the south with the municipality of Villanueva and to east with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The El Molino River is the main source of water for the municipality, flowing down from the Serrania del Perija mountain range and into the

Climate

The average temperature throughout the year is 28 °C with two rainy season and two dry seasons. Climate varies depending on altitude from steppe to mountainous, ranging between 16 °C and 34 °C presenting warm, temperate and cold weather.

History

The village of El Molino was founded in 1595 as Villa del Rosario by the Spanish colonizer Pedro Beltrán Valdés and became part of the Government of Santa Marta. The name was changed later to "''Población de San Lucas de El Molino''" and Later to simply El Molino. The first inhabitants in the region, prior to the Spanish colonization of the Americas were indigenous peoples pertaining to the Cariachiles ethnic group. Capichin friars named the village "Población de San Lucas de El Molino" because of a

Wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

Mill (grinding) A mill is a device, often a structure, machine or kitchen appliance, that breaks solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting. Such comminution is an important unit operation in many processes. There are many different ...

which was later demolished. Besides Spanish families, El Molino also received colonizers from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to a lesser scale. El Molino became a corregimiento of the municipality of Villanueva and subsequently became a municipality in 1989. El Molino was officially formed by Ordinance 039 of 2001 segregated from the municipality of

after a popular referendum.

References

External links

El Molino official website

Catholic.net - Ermita de San Lucas en El Molino-Guajira (Colombia)

{{coord, 10.6533, N, 72.9242, W, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Municipalities of La Guajira Department