Acandí is a town in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

at the northern extremity of the department of Chocó in the northwest of Colombia, bordering

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. It is from the department's capital,

Quibdó Quibdó () is the capital city of Chocó Department, in the Pacific/Chocó natural region, Pacific Region of Colombia, and is located on the Atrato River. The municipality of Quibdó has an area of and a population of 129,237, predominantly A ...

. Its average temperature is . It was founded around 1887, and it became a municipality in 1905, previously being part of

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

. The name "Acandí" is a corruption of the indigenous word "Acanti", which means "River of Stone". It is one of the constituent territories of the region of Darién, together with the towns of Unguía, Juradó and the municipality of Riosucio west of the Atrato river. About 87% of the population are Afro-Colombians, Blacks and Mulato, and the poverty index was estimated at 51 in 2018. Acandí has no road connection with the outside world. It is only about 5 miles (8 km.) from the Panama border. There is a ferry connecting it with Necoclí, some east across the Gulf of Urabá. from which there is a paved road south. This is the route for everything in Acandí that does not arrive by air. In the years leading up to the Haitian migrant crisis of 2021, these ferries, running at capacity, were primarily transporting Haitians, who were about to enter the Panamanian Darién Gap en route to the United States.

History

The name Acandí is derived from the Acandí tribe which means "River of Stones". The first the town of Acandí was founded in c. 1890 by Spanish settlers Concepción Gómez, Fermín Ávila, José Piestán, José Garrido and others with the name of San Nicolás de Titumate and was located at the western shore of the Acandí River but was constantly flooded and devastated by this river. The inhabitants moved the village to its current safer location in 1896. The municipality of Acandí was created on August 5, 1908, by an ordinance of the same year.

Geography

Its urban area is by the

in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Urabá, some away from the capital

. The municipality has an area of and borders to the north with the Caribbean Sea, to the south with the municipality of Unguía and to the west with the Republic of Panama.

Climate

Acandí has a wet

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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Af'').

Economy

The main economic activities of Acandí inters of Added value are Mining (41%), agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry and fishing (35%), manufacturing (15%) and commerce repairs and hospitality (5%). The main agricultural products are

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

, plantain and yuca. The municipality also covers the tourism hub Capurganá, located near the border with

Transportation

Acandí has a small seaport on the Caribbean Sea mainly utilizing it to communicate with other nearby ports in Colombia and Panama. The Atrato River is also used for transportation and a way to reach the Departmental capital

. The town also has a small airport, Alcides Fernández Airport (Airport class G. 1,200 m long, 10 m wide) that can receive light planes and is used primarily to fly to Quibdó or towns in the

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

. It is owned by the Colombian government agency INCORA. Inhabitants also use the nearby airfields in Capurganá: *Capurganá Airport – Airport class F, in the police inspection of Capurganá. 852 m long, 12 m wide. Operated by the municipality. *El Gilcal Airport – Airport class G, 500 m long, 15 m wide. Owned by the municipality.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acandi Municipalities of Chocó Department Populated places established in 1887 Colombia–Panama border crossings Road-inaccessible communities of Colombia