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Vichada is in the east of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Puerto Carreño.
In 1913 the Colombian government created the province (comisaria) of Vichada and it was decided that its capital should be at at the convergence of the Orinoco and Meta rivers where there was a small village known locally as El Picacho. In 1934 the town was renamed after Pedro Maria Carreño, the Colombian Minister of External Relations from 1912 to 1913. The "municipio" (similar to county in the U.S.) was created in 1974. On July 5, 1991, Vichada's status was updated to "departamento" under the Colombian Constitution and Puerto Carreño was ratified as its capital.
The area of Puerto Carreño is uniformly flat, although there is a very slight rise at the town which gave it its original name. The climate is hot, with heavy rain from April through October. Economic activity is based on agricultural and ranching activities, fishing, and mining. There is trade with Venezuela as the municipality is just across the Orinoco River. Puerto Carreño has an airport.
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