Punta Gallinas

File:Faro de Punta Gallinas.jpg

File:Lake Maracaibo map-es.svg

File:Guajirapeninsula1.png

Punta Gallinas (Cape Gallinas, "Cape Hens") is a headland in northern Colombia. Located in Uribia Municipality, La Guajira Department, it is the northernmost point on the mainland of South America, and one of the extreme points of South America.{{cite web |url=http://www.turiscolombia.andes.com/planes_la_guajira_colombia.htm |title=La Guajira Colombia Cabo de la Vela Ecoturismo - Hoteles Manaure Punta Gallinas Tours la Guajira Turismo Colombia |accessdate=2010-10-10 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204031458/http://www.turiscolombia.andes.com/planes_la_guajira_colombia.htm |archivedate=2008-12-04}}, TurisColombia; La Guajira, accessdate=2010-10-10

Geography

Punta Gallinas is situated in the northern part of the department of La Guajira, on the coast of the Caribbean Sea.

The cape is at the northern tip of the Guajira Peninsula (Península de la Guajira) in the municipality of Uribia, about {{convert|150|km|mi|abbr=on|round=5}} northeast of Riohacha.

History

The indigenous Wayuu people have populated the area for a long time.

The headland is also the location of the northernmost lighthouse in South America, the {{convert|18|m|ft|abbr=on}} high Faro de Punta Gallinas, which opened in 1989.{{cite rowlett|col|accessdate=2010-10-10}}

References

{{reflist}}