Guainía Department

Guainía (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwajˈni.a]; Yuri language: "Land of many waters") is a department of Eastern Colombia. It is in the east of the country, bordering Venezuela and Brazil. Its capital is Inírida. In 1963 Guainía was split off from Vaupés department. The northern part and the Inírida River are included in the Orinoco basin; the rest is part of the Amazon basin. The Guaviare River is the main area of colonization; many colonos come from the Colombian Andean zone, most of them from Boyacá. They are followed by the llaneros, people from the Eastern plains (Llanos). The population is mainly composed of Amerindians, and the largest ethnic groups are the Puinaves (from the makú-puinave family) and the curripacos (from the Arawak family). There are a total of 24 ethnic groups in the department; many of them speak four Indigenous languages besides Spanish and Portuguese.