Chocó Department in the context of "Cordillera Occidental (Colombia)"

Antioquia (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈtjokja] ) is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part of the Andes mountain range. Antioquia has been part of many territorial divisions of former countries created within the present-day territory of Colombia. Before the adoption of the Colombian Constitution of 1886, Antioquia State had a sovereign government.

The department covers an area of 63,612 km (24,561 sq mi), and has a population of 6,994,792 (2023). Antioquia borders the Córdoba Department and the Caribbean Sea to the north; Chocó to the west; the departments of Bolívar, Santander, and Boyaca to the east; and the departments of Caldas and Risaralda to the south.

The Darién Gap (UK: /ˈdɛəriən, ˈdær-/, US: /ˌdɛəriˈɛn, ˌdɑːr-, dɑːrˈjɛn/, Spanish: Tapón del Darién [taˈpon del daˈɾjen]) is a remote, roadless, and dangerous area of rainforest on the international border between Colombia and Panama. Stretching across southern Panama's Darién Province and the northern portion of Colombia's Chocó Department, it acts as a natural barrier between North America and South America. Consisting of a large drainage basin, dense rainforest, and mountains, it is known for its remoteness, difficult terrain, and extreme environment, with a reputation as one of the most inhospitable regions in the world. Nevertheless, as the only land bridge between North America and South America, the Darién Gap has historically served as a major route for both humans and wildlife.

The geography of the Darién Gap is highly diverse. The Colombian side is dominated primarily by the river delta of the Atrato River, which creates a flat marshland at least 80 km (50 mi) wide. The Tanela River, which flows toward Atrato, was Hispanicized to Darién by 16th-century European conquistadors. The Serranía del Baudó mountain range extends along Colombia's Pacific coast and into Panama. The Panamanian side, in stark contrast, is a mountainous rainforest, with terrain reaching from 60 m (197 ft) in the valley floors to 1,845 m (6,053 ft) at the tallest peak, Cerro Tacarcuna, in the Serranía del Darién. The Darién Gap is inhabited mostly by the indigenous Embera-Wounaan and Guna peoples; in 1995, it had a reported population of 8,000 among five tribes. The only sizable settlement in the region is La Palma, the capital of Darién Province, with roughly 4,200 residents; other population centers include Yaviza and El Real de Santa María, both on the Panamanian side.

The Atrato River (Spanish: Río Atrato) is a river of northwestern Colombia. It rises in the slopes of the Western Cordillera and flows almost due north to the Gulf of Urabá (or Gulf of Darién), where it forms a large, swampy delta. Its course crosses the Chocó Department, forming that department's border with neighboring Antioquia in two places. Its total length is about 650 km (400 mi), and it is navigable as far as Quibdó (400 km / 250 mi), the capital of the department.

In 2016, the Constitutional Court of Colombia granted the river legal rights of personhood after years of degradation of the river basin from large-scale mining and illegal logging practices, which severely impacted the traditional ways of life for Afro-Colombians and Indigenous people.

Santa María la Antigua del Darién—rendered as Dariena in the Latin of De Orbe Novo—was a Spanish colonial town founded in 1510 by Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Located in present-day Colombia approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of Acandí, within the municipality of Unguía in the Chocó Department, it was the first permanent European settlement on the mainland of the Americas and served as the first capital of Castilla del Oro. The settlement was abandoned in 1524 after the capital was transferred to the newly founded Panama City and was subsequently attacked and burned by indigenous peoples.