Leticia, Amazonas

Leticia on the map of the Amazon

Leticia is a city of 37,832 inhabitants (as of 2005) in the far south of Colombia and the capital of Amazonas Departaments that with a narrow spur ( 160x40 km ²) from the Rio Putumayo and Içá south stands here to the Amazon.

Geography

The city of Leticia on the left bank of the Amazon and is a major port of this stream. Leticia is located on the border of Colombia - Brazil - Peru, and is therefore called Tres Fronteras (Spanish for three boundaries ). It is the southernmost city in Colombia ( 4.09 ° south 69.57 ° west) and is 96 m above sea level. NN high. The average temperature is 27 ° C with high humidity.

On the same side of the river is Tabatinga, which is part of Brazil. Leticia and Tabatinga are now virtually grown together and can be from one to the other city to go without any border control. Leticia is not accessible via the Colombian road network from Bogotá, as almost 500 km rainforest between. Its history begins with the founding of belonging as San Antonio, then still to Peru. Similar to the cities of Iquitos and Manaus Leticia grew in the early 20th century by the rubber boom. Today, the largest employers in the fishing, logging and tourism.

The National Park Amacayacu located upstream, about 60 kilometers away from Leticia.

History

Leticia was founded on April 25, 1867 under the name of San Antonio as a Peruvian river port. The name was by the then governor of Loreto, Benigno Bustamante, fixed. On 15 December the same year the name was changed at the initiative of the engineer Manuel Charon in Leticia.

1932-1933 Leticia was the venue and the occasion of the Colombian - Peruvian war.