Chocó is a department of Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country, and is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean sea. It also has all of Colombia's border with Panama. Its capital is Quibdó.
Despite having an incredibly diverse geography, unique ecosystems and unexploited resources, Chocó has has one of the lowest living standards in Colombia. On March 2007 Colombian media reported the death of some 50 children due to starvation in less than three months, this created awareness of the grave condition Chocó inhabitants are facing. Despite being the world's rainiest lowland, with close to 400 inches of annual precipitation Chocó's capital Quibdó was left without water.
The Chocó Department makes up most of the ecoregion known as El Chocó that extends from Panama to Ecuador.
In the municipality of Lloró which holds the Highest Average Annual Precipitation record measured at 523.6 inches (13,300 mm) which makes it the wettest place in the world. Three large rivers drain the Chocó Department, the Atrato River, the San Juan River and the Baudó River, each one with many tributaries. The Baudó Mountains on the coast and the Cordillera Occidental are cut by low valleys with an altitude less than 1,000 meters that form most of the territory. Most of the Chocó is thick rain forest. Much of Colombia's internal consumption of wood comes from the Chocó, as well as a small percentage for export.
Chocó is inhabited predominantly by descendants of African slaves brought by the Spanish Colonizers after conquering the Americas. The second race/ethnic group are the remnants of Native American people known as the Emberá with more than half of their total population in Colombia living in Chocó, some 35,500. They survive by practicing hunting and artisan fishing and live by rivers.
Quibdó is the largest city with a population of almost 100,000. Other important cities and towns include Istmina, Condoto, Nóvita and El Carmen in the interior, Acandí on the Caribbean coast, and Solano on the Pacific coast. Resorts include Capurgana on the Caribbean coast, and Jurado, Nuquí, and Bahía Solano on the west coast.
Municipalities
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