María La Baja is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia.
María La Baja | |
|---|---|
Municipality and town | |
.svg) Flag | |
 Location of the municipality and town of María La Baja in the Bolívar Department of Colombia | |
| Country |  Colombia |
| Department | Bolívar Department |
| Area | |
• Municipality and town | 559.9 km2 (216.2 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 2.91 km2 (1.12 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Population (2018 census)[1] | |
• Municipality and town | 46,112 |
| • Urban | 20,451 |
| • Urban density | 7,000/km2 (18,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time) |
History
editMaría La Baja was founded by Alonso de Heredia (brother of Pedro de Heredia) on December 8, 1535.
Geography and climate
editThe municipality of María La Baja has a total area of 547 km², bordering to the north with the municipality of Arjona, to the east with the municipalities of Mahates and San Juan Nepomuceno, south with the municipalities of El Carmen de Bolívar and San Jacinto and to the west with the municipality of San Onofre, Sucre. The town of María La Baja has an area of approximately 150 km² and it is some 72 km away from the Department's capital Cartagena.
A warm climate prevails throughout the year at an average temperature of 28 °C.
| Climate data for María La Baja (Nueva Florida), elevation 13 m (43 ft), (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 33.9 (93.0) |
34.1 (93.4) |
34.2 (93.6) |
33.8 (92.8) |
32.8 (91.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
33.0 (91.4) |
33.0 (91.4) |
32.4 (90.3) |
32.0 (89.6) |
32.1 (89.8) |
32.8 (91.0) |
33.1 (91.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.8 (80.2) |
27.3 (81.1) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.3 (81.1) |
26.9 (80.4) |
26.7 (80.1) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.7 (80.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 20.8 (69.4) |
21.4 (70.5) |
22.2 (72.0) |
23.3 (73.9) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.9 (73.2) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.9 (73.2) |
21.7 (71.1) |
22.6 (72.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 19.3 (0.76) |
28.9 (1.14) |
41.6 (1.64) |
126.0 (4.96) |
180.0 (7.09) |
186.5 (7.34) |
194.1 (7.64) |
197.7 (7.78) |
186.1 (7.33) |
191.8 (7.55) |
179.5 (7.07) |
74.2 (2.92) |
1,542.6 (60.73) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 112 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 83 | 82 | 80 | 83 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 84 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 248.0 | 203.3 | 189.1 | 159.0 | 139.5 | 141.0 | 167.4 | 158.1 | 126.0 | 130.2 | 147.0 | 210.8 | 2,019.4 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 8.0 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 6.8 | 5.5 |
| Source: Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales[2] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for María La Baja (San Pablo), elevation 20 m (66 ft), (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 34.0 (93.2) |
34.5 (94.1) |
34.4 (93.9) |
34.5 (94.1) |
32.9 (91.2) |
33.0 (91.4) |
33.1 (91.6) |
33.1 (91.6) |
32.7 (90.9) |
32.0 (89.6) |
32.2 (90.0) |
33.0 (91.4) |
33.3 (91.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.3 (81.1) |
27.9 (82.2) |
28.2 (82.8) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.9 (82.2) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.4 (81.3) |
27.0 (80.6) |
27.1 (80.8) |
27.1 (80.8) |
27.6 (81.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21.6 (70.9) |
22.2 (72.0) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.9 (75.0) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.3 (73.9) |
23.2 (73.8) |
22.3 (72.1) |
23.1 (73.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 18.6 (0.73) |
23.4 (0.92) |
49.0 (1.93) |
124.8 (4.91) |
190.6 (7.50) |
183.8 (7.24) |
184.0 (7.24) |
230.3 (9.07) |
215.5 (8.48) |
237.8 (9.36) |
173.9 (6.85) |
93.5 (3.68) |
1,725.4 (67.93) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 8 | 133 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 79 | 75 | 75 | 78 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 82 | 81 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 257.3 | 220.2 | 201.5 | 174.0 | 151.9 | 165.0 | 189.1 | 179.8 | 141.0 | 145.7 | 162.0 | 223.2 | 2,210.7 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 8.3 | 7.8 | 6.5 | 5.8 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 7.2 | 6.1 |
| Source: Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales[2] | |||||||||||||
Involvement in armed conflict
editMaría La Baja has grown substantially in recent years as some 7000 people have moved into the town from the surrounding countryside, since 2000 when the FARC guerrilla group arrived in the hills nearby. According to reports[3] the FARC militants stole cattle. The situation deteriorated further when AUC paramilitaries began to battle FARC, catching civilians in the crossfire. However the security situation has improved more recently with the AUC bloc Heroes de los Montes de María giving up their weapons on July 14, 2005, under a national demobilization plan speared by the government of Álvaro Uribe. Marines have set up a base on the edge of the town.[3]
References
edit- ^ Citypopulation.de
- ^ a b "Promedios Climatológicos 1981–2010" (in Spanish). Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b "The perils of "parapolitics"". 22 March 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2017 – via The Economist.
- (in Spanish) María la Baja official website