Meta () is a
department of
Colombia. It is close to the geographic center of the country, to the east of the
Andean
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...
mountains. A large portion of the department, which is also crossed by the
Meta River
The Meta River is a major left tributary of the Orinoco River in eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela, South America. The Meta originates in the Eastern Ranges of the Andes and flows through the Meta Department, Colombia as the confluence of ...
, is covered by a grassland plain known as the
Llanos. Its capital is
Villavicencio
Villavicencio () is a city and municipality in Colombia. Capital of Meta Department, it was founded on April 6, 1840. The city had an urban population of approximately 531,275 inhabitants in 2018.https://www.dane.gov.co/files/varios/informacio ...
. The department has a monument placed in the very geographic centre of Colombia, at a place known as Alto de Menegua, a few kilometers from Puerto López.
Achagua, which is similar to Piapoco, is an
Indigenous language spoken by a minority in the department.
Municipalities
See also
*
Juan Manuel González Torres
*
San Martín Territory
*
References
External links
Folklore llaneroGovernment MetaTerritorial-Environmental Information System of Colombian Amazon SIAT-AC website
{{Authority control
States and territories established in 1960
Departments of Colombia