Puerto Asís () is a Colombian municipality and city in

Putumayo Department Putumayo () is a departments of Colombia, department of Southern Colombia. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Ecuador and Peru. Its capital is Mocoa. The word ''putumayo'' comes from the Quechua languages. The verb ''p'utuy'' ...

. It is located on the west bank of the

Putumayo River The Putumayo River or Içá River (, ) is one of the tributaries of the Amazon River, southwest of and parallel to the Japurá River. Course The Putumayo River forms part of Colombia's border with Ecuador, as well as most of the border with Per ...

, downstream from the mouth of the

Guamués River Guamués River is a river of Colombia. It is part of the Amazon River basin and a 140-km-long left tributary of the Putumayo River. See also *List of rivers of Colombia *Cofán Cofan or Cofán may refer to: * Cofán people, an ethnic group of E ...

, south of (Cardinal)

Mocoa Mocoa () ( Kamëntšá: Shatjok) is a municipality and capital city of the department of Putumayo in Colombia. The city is located in the northwest of the Putumayo department Putumayo () is a departments of Colombia, department of Southern ...

. Bordering

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, Puerto Asís municipality is the most populous municipality of the department, with a population of 67,211.

History

Puerto Asís was founded on May 3, 1912, by the Capuchins Missionaries, led by Father Estanislao de las Cortes and Brother Hidelfonso de Tulcán. The city bears the name of

Saint Francis St. Francis or Saint Francis may refer to: Roman Catholic saints *Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), Italian founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) *Francis of Paola (1416–1507), Italian (Calabrian) founder of the Order of the Minims * ...

's birthplace—

Assisi Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...

. In order to reaffirm the sovereignty of Colombia in the territories that were contested by Peru, the government located programs in the region that contributed to the town's growth. By April 1914, the village had a population of more than 200; however, excluding children, women, or

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. The population continued to increase. The mission opened a boarding school for the education of the local indigenous population and the colonists' children. Later that same year, The Franciscan Sisters took charge of the school. The city celebrates

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

each year in January, beginning with a Tyre

Regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...

on January 3 in the Putumayo River. This became a major tourist attraction. Regata en el rio putumayo

Culture

Each day of Carnival features a separate color. January 4 is multicolored; the 5th is black; the 6th is white and end with the coronation of the carnival queen on the 7th. The town celebrates its founding on May 3. The Puerto Asis fair has historically been recognized as ranch day. It includes horseback riding and livestock exhibitions.

Climate

Puerto Asís has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

External links

Government of Puerto Asis official website

Environmental information of amazon colombian

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puerto Asis Municipalities of Putumayo Department