Margarita Island (Colombia)

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Margarita Island
Mompox - Vista dal Rio Magdalena.jpg
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Margarita Island
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Margarita Island
Geography
Location Magdalena River
Coordinates 9°5′2″N74°30′0″W / 9.08389°N 74.50000°W / 9.08389; -74.50000
Area2,200 km2 (850 sq mi)
Administration
Department Bolívar Department
Margarita Island (Colombia)

Margarita Island (Spanish : Isla Margarita), also called Mompox Island (Spanish : Isla Mompox [1] ), is an inland river island in the Magdalena River, near Mompos town of interior Colombia. It is located in the Bolivar Department, on the border with the Magdalena Department in northern Colombia. With an area of 2100 to 2200 km2,[ citation needed ] it is the largest island in Colombia and the fourth largest river island in the world after the islands of Marajo, Bananal and Tupinambarana (all in Brazil). It had a population of 117,210 in 2008. [2]

Contents

Geography

Margarita Island is located in the deposit basin Depresión Momposina. It is 40 km wide and 90 km long and almost rectangular, [3] the area of the island changes with the tides. The island is located at the mouth of the rivers Cauca and Magdalena. The highest point on the island is 20 metres (65 ft 7+12 in). [4]

There are small swamps on the island: Ciénaga Bochica,Ciénaga Pajaral,Ciénaga De Lona,Ciénaga El Medio,Ciénaga Ancon,Ciénaga Florida, Ciénaga Grande, Ciénaga Robles, Ciénaga El Uvero, Ciénaga El Cacao, Ciénaga El Cucharal, Ciénaga El Palmar or Ciénaga Gualamito . [5] There are other river islands nearby.

Administrative divisions

Margarita Island is divided into six municipalities: Santa Cruz de Mompox, it contains more than a third of the island's territory and three-sevenths of its population, is the economic center of the island, [2] the other five: Talaigua Nuevo, San Fernando, Margarita, Hatillo de Loba and Cicuco, which together form a sub-region of the department Depresión Momposina Bolivarense,

In 2008, the island had about 117,000 inhabitants. Other places on the island Patico, Guasimal, Santa Rosa, Pinillos or La Victoria. [5] On the mainland on north coast of the island is the city of Magangu, an important financial center of Bolívar. The town of El Banco is located to the east of the island. The department Magdalena is located immediately northeast of the island, the department Sucre to the west (5 km) and the department Cesar to the east 10 km.

Flora and fauna

Island vegetation is dominated by mangroves and Capsicum frutescens .

The fish species found in the waters near the island belong to the family Gerreidae, the genus Polymixia , Beardfish, Mojarras and the species Prochilodus magdalenae .

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Bolívar is a department of Colombia. It was named after one of the original nine states of the United States of Colombia. It is located to the north of the country, extending roughly north–south from the Caribbean coast at Cartagena near the mouth of the Magdalena River, then south along the river to a border with Antioquia Department. The departments of Sucre and Córdoba are located to the west, and Atlántico Department to the north and east. Across the Magdalena River to the east is Magdalena Department. The flag of the department bears a resemblance to the flag of Lithuania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magdalena Department</span> Department of Colombia

Magdalena is a department of Colombia with more than 1.3 million people, located to the north of the country by the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Magdalena Department is Santa Marta and was named after the Magdalena River. It inherited the name of one of the original nine states of the United States of Colombia that its current territory integrated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cesar Department</span> Department of Colombia

Cesar Department or simply Cesar is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to the west with the Department of Magdalena and Department of Bolivar, to the south with Department of Santander, to the east with the Department of North Santander, and further to the east with the country of Venezuela. The department capital city is Valledupar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magdalena River</span> River in Colombia

The Magdalena River is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about 1,528 kilometres (949 mi) through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as far as Honda, at the downstream base of its rapids. It flows through the Magdalena River Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margarita Island</span> Island in Venezuela

Margarita Island is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Totó la Momposina</span> Colombian musician

Sonia Bazanta Vides, better known as Totó la Momposina, is a Colombian singer of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous descent. She reached international attention with the release of her 1993 album La Candela Viva on Peter Gabriel's Real World Records label. Totó accompanied Gabriel García Márquez to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982 as part of a Colombian cultural delegation performing during the award ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magangué</span> City in Bolívar Department, Colombia

Magangué is a municipality of Colombia in the Department of Bolivar. The town is located in the Magdalena River; 20 km north of the mouth of the Cauca River, the Magdalena River. According to projections, the city has a population of over 198,000 inhabitants, becoming the twenty-seventh largest city in Colombia, with about 800,000 inhabitants in the Association Sabana Metropolitan, making it the eighth largest metropolitan area in Colombia. It is the second largest city of the Department, and the ninth largest of the Caribbean Region. Magangué was home to the country's largest port, now badly damaged by the problems of political corruption. It has been shown that the city has great national potential, due to its strategic location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Cruz de Mompox</span> Municipality in Caribbean Region, Colombia

Mompox or Mompós, officially Santa Cruz de Mompox, is a town and municipality in northern Colombia, in the Bolívar Department. The town initially grew from its proximity to the Magdalena river and has preserved much of its colonial character. It also played an important role in the independence of America from Spain. Today, Mompox depends upon tourism, fishing, and some commerce generated by the local cattle raising. The municipality has a population of 46,408 and is adjacent to the municipalities of Pinillos and San Fernando. The historic center of Mompox was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, owing to its preserved colonial architecture and mixture of architectural styles.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anabranch</span> A section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel and rejoins it downstream.

An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel or stem of the watercourse and rejoins the main stem downstream. Local anabranches can be the result of small islands in the watercourse. In larger anabranches, the flow can diverge for a distance of several or even hundreds of kilometers before rejoining the main channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciénaga, Magdalena</span> Municipality in Caribbean, Colombia

Ciénaga is a municipality and city in the Magdalena Department, Colombia, the second largest population center in this department, after the city of Santa Marta. It is situated at 11° 00' North, 74° 15' West, between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Caribbean Sea and the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta marsh in northern Colombia. The city is situated in the northern part of Magdalena, 35 km from Santa Marta. According to estimations in 2020, the city had a population of 110,303. The mean annual temperature is 34 °C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta</span>

The Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta is the largest of the swampy marshes located in Colombia between the Magdalena River and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. It has an area of 4280 km2 and belongs to the outer delta system of the Madgalena River. It is separated from the Caribbean Sea by a narrow, sandy artificial spit built in the 1950s, on which is situated coastal route 90 from Barranquilla to Santa Marta. The marsh's large lagoon is connected to the Caribbean Sea via a narrow strait located between the town of Pueblo Viejo and the city of Ciénaga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Banco, Magdalena</span> Municipality in Caribbean, Colombia

El Banco, also called Cumbia Empire City, is a municipality of Colombia located in the southernmost part of the department of Magdalena, at the confluence of the Magdalena and Cesar River. It is part of the Depresión momposina. Surrounded by the Zapatosa and Chilloa swamps.

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The Salamanca Island Road Park is a national park located in the Caribbean Region of Colombia, on the western outskirts of the city of Ciénaga in the Magdalena Department. The flora and fauna is in abundance because of the confluence of sweet water flowing from the Magdalena River and saline water of the Caribbean Sea. It was created in 1964 to protect the abundant bird life and coastal mangroves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolívar State, Colombia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caribbean natural region</span> Region of coastal northern Colombia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magdalena campaign</span> 1812-1813 military operation in New Granada

The Magdalena campaign was a military operation from late 1812 to early 1813, led by the independentists Simón Bolívar and Pierre Labatut against royalists and the crown of Spain in New Granada. The campaign resulted in the revolutionary United Provinces of New Grenada taking control of the Magdalena River, which connects the port city of Cartagena with the interior of Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumbia (Colombia)</span> Regional music and dance style

Cumbia is a folkloric genre and dance from Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Santa Cruz de Mompox</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bolívar Department, Colombia

The Villa de Santa Cruz de Mompox was founded by Don Juan Quintero de Heredia, Adelantado of the Gobernation of Cartagena and brother of the founder of that city, Pedro de Heredia, on May 3, 1537, after fighting battles against the Kimbay tribe and defeating the Chieftain Mompoj.

References

  1. "Río Grande de la Magdalena - Colección Ecológica del Banco". Retrieved 14 February 2016
  2. 1 2 "Ausführlicher Bericht zur wirtschaftlichen und finanziellen Lage auf der Insel (auf Spanisch)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  3. "Profil auf wolframalpha.com". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  4. "Profil und Karte der Insel auf es.getamap.net (auf Spanisch)". Archived from the original on 2020-08-01. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  5. 1 2 "Die Isla Margarita auf der Reisewebsite travelingluck.com". Archived from the original on 2017-08-13. Retrieved 2020-01-04.