Risaralda Department
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Risaralda () or "Rizaralde", is a landlocked
department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
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 ...
. It is located in the western central region of the country and part of the
Paisa Region A Paisa is someone from a region in the northwest of Colombia, including part of the West and Central ''cordilleras'' of the Andes in Colombia. The Paisa region is formed by the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío. S ...
. Its capital is Pereira. It was divided from the department of Caldas in 1966. Risaralda is very well known for the high quality of its
coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...
, and a booming industry: clothes, food, trading of goods and services. The territory is very mountainous and has many kinds of climates in a very small area. Its proximity to harbours such as Goodventure on the Pacific Ocean and to the biggest cities in Colombia – Bogota,
Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...
, Medellin – makes it a fast-growing economic centre.


Geography

Risaralda department with an area of , is located in the central sector of the central Andean region west of the country between two major poles of economic development (department of Antioquia in northern and southern Cauca Valley, extending between the central and western Cordillera), which slopes down toward the
Río Cauca The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangue in Bolivar Department, and th ...
, also borders the departments of Caldas in the north-east, east Tolima, Quindio Chocó south and west. The department's drainage system consists of two major basins, the
Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangue in Bolivar Department, and th ...
and the San Juan River. Physiographical formations are covered by the volcanic massifs of the central and western mountain ranges, flat and narrow valleys formed by the natural river basins of the
Otún River The Otún River (''Río Otún'') is a river in the Risaralda Department, Risaralda department of Colombia. Its source is Lake Otún, fed by meltwater from Nevado Santa Isabel, and its outlet is the Cauca River. The Otún River passes between the ...
, the Cauca River, Risaralda River, and
La Vieja River La Vieja River ( es, Río La Vieja) is a river in the Colombian departments of Quindío, Valle del Cauca and Risaralda. It is a major tributary of the Cauca River. The river is formed by the joining of the Quindío River and the Barragán ...
. Its main stages are: Nevado de Santa Isabel (Pereira), Cerro de Tatamá (Sanctuary), Cerro de Caramanta (Mistrató), Alto de las Palomas (Pueblo Rico), Alto de Pelahuevos (APIA), Blade la Serna (Mistrató), San Juan Blade (APIA), Blade of the Content (APIA), Blade Tribune (Pereira), Alto del Nudo and Morro Azul (Pereira), Alto de la Campana (APIA) and the Crystalline High (Belen de Umbria.) The soils of the department have their origin in igneous rocks and volcanic ash derived from sedimentary rocks and alluvial and colluvial materials. According to these materials, located in the county soil units: manila, Parnaz or 200, unit 10 or Chinchiná and Malabar, being the most extensive in the coffee or Chinchiná unit 10. As for the classification agrological (crops) 6.4% of the departmental area (except the municipalities of Pueblo Rico, Belén de Umbria Mistrató and have not agrological study) corresponds to classes II, III, and IV, 77.2% to class V, VI, VII, and 16.4% to class VIII and in appearance agrological mainly found Mj units and Fn., which occupy 58.6% of the total area considered suitable for a variety of crops and forests. In the department there are a variety of life zones, which are distributed as follows: BMH-PM (40.3%), BMH-MB (28.7%), BP-pm (9.4%) and the rest (21.5%) are bs -T-T bh, bh-T, bh-PM, bp-MB, BH-F, bp-M, among others.


History

Before the European conquest the territory was inhabited by the Quimbaya and Caramanta people. The first conquistadores arrived in the 1537 expedition headed by
Sebastián de Belalcázar Sebastián de Belalcázar (; 1479/1480 – 1551) was a Spanish conquistador. De Belalcázar, also written as de Benalcázar, is known as the founder of important early colonial cities in the northwestern part of South America; Quito in 1534 and Ca ...
. Some Spanish towns were founded, but the decline of the indigenous population and low immigration of Europeans led to Risaralda sitting largely abandoned until the mid-nineteenth century, when coffee cultivation arrived. During the colonial and early years of the Republic, the region was subject to
Popayán Province Popayán Province was first a Spanish jurisdiction under the Royal Audience of Quito and the Royal Audience of Santafé , and after the independence one of the provinces of the Cauca Department (Gran Colombia), later becoming the Republic of New Gr ...
. In 1821 it became part of the
Cauca Department Cauca Department (, es, Departamento del Cauca) is a Department of Southwestern Colombia. Located in the southwestern part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department t ...
. In 1857 it became part of the
Federal State of Cauca Cauca State was one of the states of Colombia. Today the area of the former state makes up most of modern-day west and southern Colombia, with some portion of its vast territories acquired by present-day Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela. Na ...
. In 1905, Risaralda was attached to the
Caldas Department Caldas () is a department of Colombia named after Colombian patriotic figure Francisco José de Caldas. It is part of the Paisa Region and its capital is Manizales. The population of Caldas is 998,255, and its area is 7,291 km². Caldas is a ...
. In 1966 it was created as a separate department with its capital in Pereira.


Municipalities

# Apía # Balboa # Belén de Umbría # Dosquebradas #
Guática Guática is a town and municipality in the Risaralda Department of Colombia, at approximately 1530 m above sea level. Founded in 1537 by Don Ruy de Vanegas, a lieutenant of Sebastián de Belalcázar and by the priest Esteban de Guevara. The town ...
# La Celia #
La Virginia La Virginia (, elevation 920 m) is a town and municipality in the Department of Risaralda, Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near N ...
# Marsella #
Mistrató Mistrato (elevation 1900 metres, m) is a town and municipality in the Departments of Colombia, Department of Risaralda Department, Risaralda, Colombia. The town is located about two hours west of Pereira. References

Municipalities of R ...
# Pereira # Pueblo Rico #
Quinchía Quinchía, also known as ''Villa de los Cerros'' (''Village of the Hills''), is a town and municipality in the Department of Risaralda, Colombia. About 110 km away from the capital Pereira. In 2023 the town had an estimated population of 27,89 ...
#
Santa Rosa de Cabal Santa Rosa de Cabal is a town and municipality in the Risaralda Department, of west central Colombia, on the western slopes of the Andean Cordillera Central. It is a commercial and manufacturing centre for the fertile agricultural and pastoral h ...
# Santuario


References


External links

*http://www.risaralda.gov.co {{Authority control Departments of Colombia States and territories established in 1966