Calarcá, Quindío

Calarcá is a municipality in the eastern part of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It is located 4 km east of the departmental capital Armenia. Its nickname is "La Villa del Cacique" ("The Boss's Borough").

In 2005 it had an estimated population of 82,400, of which 62,100 live in the main urban zone.

Geography

The municipality of Calarcá is located between 4° 20’ 40” and 4° 33’ 50” north and between 75° 33’ 40” and 75° 48’ 40” west. The inner city is located 4° 33’ 0.6” north and 75° 39’ 00” west. It lies in the Andean zone flanking the Central Cordillera, east of the department of Quindío in the centre-western part of the country, within the area known as the "Eje Cafetero" ("Coffee Axis"). Calarcá is bordered by the municipalities of Salento to the north, Cajamarca (Tolima) to the east, Córdoba, Buenavista, Pijao in Quindío and Caicedonia in the Cauca Valley to the south, and La Tebaida y Armenia to the west.

The municipality has an area of 219.23 km². Urban area is 2.44 km². Rural area is 216.79 km². It varies in altitude between 1000 m above sea level at the confluence of the Quindío y Barragán rivers to 3667 m above sea level in the El Campanario highland area. The city itself sits at an average of 1536 m above sea level.

[= History =]

Economy

Economy of Calarca is a poor one just like in others towns in the Quindio. Principally people receive money from their families that work in other countries.

External links

* [http://www.calarca.gov.co Alcaldía Municipal de Calarcá] . Official web page of the city council (in Spanish).
* [http://www.calarca.net Calarcá, La Villa del Cacique] . Extensive site with local and tourist information (in Spanish).

References

Lopera Gutiérrez, Jaime, [http://www.calarca.net/mitos.html "La Colonización del Quindío"] .

Loaiza Piedrahita, Oscar (2004), "Los corredores del tiempo: Guía turística por la historia del Quindío". ISBN 958-33-7088-6. Book in Spanish on the history of the municipalities of Quindío until the foundation of the department in 1966. The local history is placed in the context of wider events in Colombia.