Arauca Department

Arauca (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈɾawka]) is a department of Eastern Colombia located in the extreme north of the Orinoco Basin of Colombia (the Llanos Orientales), bordering Venezuela. The southern boundary of Arauca is formed by the Casanare and Meta Rivers, separating Arauca from the departments of Casanare and Vichada. To the west, Arauca borders the department of Boyacá. The Caño Limón oilfield located within Arauca account for almost a third of the Colombian oil output. Its capital is the town of Arauca.

The name Arauca is believed to derive from the name of an Indigenous people, who are thought to be related to the Arawak or Arhuaco people.^{[citation needed]} Some have also speculated that the name Arauca is connected with the Araucanian or Mapuche Indians of Chile and Argentina.^{[citation needed]}

The first conquistador to set foot in the region of present-day Arauca was Nikolaus Federmann in 1539. He was a soldier in the company of Georg von Speyer, who passed through the south of present-day Venezuela and the eastern part of what is today known as Colombia. In 1659, the Catholic missions were establishing new settlements in tribal Guahibo, U'wa, Aeric and Chirico tribal lands.

In the eighteenth century, being expelled from the Jesuits under Viceroy Pedro Mesia de la Zerda, the Augustinian Recollect succeeded in their mission of evangelization. They founded five centers of the catechism: Solitude of Cravo, Cuiloto San Javier, San Jose del Ele, Lipa San Joaquin and San Fernando de Arauca.

In 1810, the Araucanian territory became part of the newly created province of Casanare and in 1819 Arauca was incorporated into the province of Cundinamarca. By 1857, Arauca was made part of the Sovereign State of Boyacá, that later became the Boyacá department. In 1891, the Arauca police station was established with chief executive Pedro León Acosta. By decree 113 of January 20, 1955, the territory was elevated to the national quartermaster, and finally, with the Constitution of July 5, 1991, Arauca became a department. Arauca is the regional capital since 1911.

Its territory covers an area of 23,818 km², predominantly composed of plains.

The Colombian census does not collect data on race and ethnicity, but compiled population estimates of the five groupings are:

There are small numbers of descendants of European immigrants: the Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, British, Dutch, Polish, Greek and Arab (i.e. Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian) nationalities.