Yarumal is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Antioquia Department ) , anthem = Himno de Antioquia , image_map = Antioquia in Colombia (mainland).svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Antioquia shown in red , image_ma ...

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 ...

. The municipality (three parishes and 20 villages) has an area of , 35,315 inhabitants, and its average elevation is above sea level. It has a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

, Our Lady of Mercy, which is a parish church of architectural note. It gave its name to the Yarumal Society for the Foreign Missions (M.X.Y./I.M.E.Y.), a Medellin-based Latin Catholic Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for Men, which despite its name is especially active in Colombian missions.

History

Yarumal was founded in 1787 as San Luis de Gongora. Municipal status was granted in 1821.

Name

The current name of Yarumal comes from a local plant of the family

Moraceae The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...

, known in botanical Latin as

Cecropia peltata ''Cecropia peltata'' is a fast-growing tree in the genus ''Cecropia''. Common names include trumpet tree, trumpet-bush, bacano and snakewood. It is listed as one of the world's 100 worst invasive alien species. Description ''Cecropia peltata'' ...

Health

An unusually large proportion of the inhabitants suffer from early-onset

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

, which is caused by the gene mutation E280A. The genetic mutation is thought to have come from a Spanish conquistador. Approximately 5,000 residents will develop early-onset Alzheimer's. Half of the affected residents were shown to have developed symptoms by their early 40s.

Climate

Yarumal has a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(Cfb). It has heavy rainfall year round.

References

Municipalities of Antioquia Department {{Antioquia-geo-stub

History

Name

Health

Climate

See also

References