The Serranía del Perijá, Cordillera de Perijá or Sierra de Perijá is a mountain range, an extension of the eastern

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 ...

branch ( Cordillera Oriental), in northern South America, between Colombia and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, ending further north in the Guajira Desert, a total distance of about . It separates the

Maracaibo Basin The Maracaibo Basin, also known as Lake Maracaibo natural region, Lake Maracaibo depression or Lake Maracaibo Lowlands, is a foreland basin and one of the eight natural regions of Venezuela, found in the northwestern corner of Venezuela in South A ...

from the

Cesar-Ranchería Basin The Cesar-Ranchería Basin ( es, Cuenca Cesar-Ranchería) is a sedimentary basin in northeastern Colombia. It is located in the southern part of the department of La Guajira and northeastern portion of Cesar. The basin is bound by the Oca Faul ...

. Some of the area has been considered as a Flora and Fauna Sanctuary.

Geography

Starting at the southernmost point, near Ocaña, Colombia, this mountain range forms the boundary between the Colombian departments of

Norte de Santander North Santander (Spanish: Norte de Santander) () is a department of Northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities. North Santander is bordered by Vene ...

and Cesar, and then as the range progresses north, it forms the international boundary between Venezuela (

Zulia State Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It ...

) and Colombia (Cesar Department). Included in the range are the Sierra Motilones, Sierra Valledupar, and Sierra Oca. The highest point is Cerro de Las Tetas at 3630 meters, followed by Cerro Irapa at 3540 m., Serranía de Macuira at 864 m., and Cerro Aceite at 853 m.

Peoples

The range is 58% in Venezuela, and 42% in Colombia. Venezuela has set aside a substantial part of the central part of the range as a national park ( Sierra de Perijá National Park), and Colombia has a smaller one. In the Venezuelan portion there are

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

reservations for the Yucpa and Barí people, and in Colombia for the Iroko and Sokorpa people. Venezuela has started a colonialization border plan building new communities along the border in the Perijá. The town of Cojoro was the first one completed, followed by communities for the

Wayuu The Wayuu (also Wayu, Wayúu, Guajiro, Wahiro) are an Amerindian ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula in northernmost part of Colombia and northwest Venezuela. The Wayuu language is part of the Maipuran (Arawak) language family. Geography ...

and Goajira peoples.

Economy and politics

The climate is mostly tropical humid forests, with cultivation of

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

and

papaver ''Papaver'' is a genus of 70–100 species of frost-tolerant annuals, biennials, and perennials native to temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the type genus of the poppy family, Papaveraceae. Description The ...

flowers. It is also a hot spot in the

Colombian Conflict The Colombian conflict ( es, link=no, Conflicto armado interno de Colombia) began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left gue ...

serving as home to parts of two FARC blocs called the Caribbean Bloc of the FARC-EP and the Middle Magdalena Bloc of the FARC-EP., and an ELN guerrilla column, that have also strayed into Venezuelan territory.

References

#�
Peakbagger.com: ''Perija-Guajira''
#
VHeadline.com
' Sunday, January 18, 1998, ''New border town ready in April as another gets lined up for flash point Perija'', by Patrick J. O'Donoghue #
fac.mil.co
',Accessed March 9, 2007,

Colombian Air Force , "We are the Force" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Colombian Air Force Hymn , mascot = Capitan Paz , anniversaries = 8 November , ...

; "The New Corridors of Arms, Drugs and Death" {{DEFAULTSORT:Serrania del Perija Mountain ranges of the Andes Mountain ranges of Colombia Mountain ranges of Venezuela Geographical regions of Venezuela Protected areas of Colombia