Magdalena is a department of Colombia, located to the north of the country by the Caribbean Sea. Its capital of the Magdalena Department is Santa Marta and was named after the Magdalena River. It inherited the name from one of the original nine states of the United States of Colombia that its current territory was part of.
In the North it borders the Caribbean Sea. On the Northeast it borders the Department of La Guajira, being divided by the Palomino River. On the East it borders with the Department of Cesar, which is in partly divided by the Guaraní River. On the West, it is divided by the Magdalena River, and it borders the departments of Atlantico in the Northwest, and Bolívar in the West and Southwest.
The territory of the Department of Magdalena is formed by four Drainage basins which are very different in composition and importance:
- Sierra Nevada’s Northern Slope
- Sierra Nevada’s Southwestern Slope
- Magdalena Basin
- Ariguaní Basin
The department of Magdalena is characterized by marshlands. The whole western side of the department its dotted with marshes and lakes due to the Magdalena River that borders the department. Most of the marshes are located in the northwestern side. The permanent marshes are, Chilloa, La Rinconada, Tesca, Pijiño, Juan Criollo, Jaraba, Playa Afuera, Grande de Santa Marta, and Zapatosa. 
The Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, is the biggest and by far the most important marsh in the department of Magdalena and one of the most important marshes in the country. It is located in the northwest of the department and is separated from the sea by a very thin margin of land, only a few meters away. The Zapatosa Marsh, located in the municipality of El Plato in the southernmost part of the department, it is shared with the Department of Cesar, who controls most of its waters. It has an extension of 310 km² and at its deepest it reaches about 8m. In it many rivers of different importance merge. The Zapatosa Marsh drains into the Magdalena River by an arm of about 16km of length.
Because of its terrain and proximity to the sea, Magdalena has an unsettled weather. It experiences hot temperatures with high humidity, but temperatures does vary because of altitude differences. Altitude vary from 0m to 5,775m above sea levels, the drastic changes of altitude divides the territory into what is called thermal floors. There are no solid or determined divides between these floors as local factors can affect the temperature. The first 200m of altitude are considered the warm lands, they occupy a great area and the average temperature is about 30°C. The main urban centers are located in the warm lands, including all of the downtown urban area of Santa Marta. The altitude increases because of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain the highest coastal mountain on earth.
The territory of Magdalena has an area of approximately 23,188 km², small compared to other regions, but in its territory has great a great variety of ecoregions. Tehse ecoregions consist of beaches and coastal areas in the north, snow covered peaks in the Sierra, swampy marshes in the west, cloud forests, inland grasslands, urban districts, farmlands, desert landscapesrain forest, and rivers. These ecosystem support different fauna and flora and house many rare species.
The Department of Magdalena is subdivided into 30 Municipalities, and 1 District, the municipalities are governed by a democratically elected Municipal Mayor and a Municipal Council, and the Turistic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta is administered by the Municipality of Santa Marta .
Municipalities
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