Barranquilla

/bahrdd'rddahn kee"yah/, n.

a seaport in N Colombia, on the Magdalena River. 661,920.

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City (pop., 1999: 1,226,292), northern Colombia.

Founded in 1629 about 10 mi (16 km) from the mouth of the Magdalena River, it remained unimportant until the 1930s, when the clearing of sandbars made it an important port on the Caribbean Sea. It has since been rivaled by the Pacific Ocean port of Buenaventura, but it still handles goods from the interior and is the terminus of natural-gas pipelines from northern Colombia.

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▪ Colombia

 capital of Atlántico departamento, northwestern Colombia. It is situated in the Caribbean lowlands, 15 miles (24 km) upstream from the mouth of the Magdalena River, and is Colombia's largest port along the Caribbean Sea. Founded in 1629, it remained unimportant until the construction of a railroad to satellite ports on Sabanilla Bay and the clearing of sandbars from the Magdalena River's mouth in the 1930s. Since World War II, the relative decline in traffic on the river and the growth of road transport have instead favoured the development of the Pacific Ocean port of Buenaventura. Barranquilla, however, continues to handle much coffee and petroleum from the interior and cotton from the surrounding region. It is also the terminus of natural-gas pipelines from fields in northern Colombia. Textiles, beverages, cement, shoes, clothing, cardboard, and chemicals are among its industrial products. Barranquilla houses Atlántico University (1941) and the University of the North (1966). The city is accessible by highway, possesses an international jet airport, and is a major gateway to tourism on the Caribbean coast. Pop. (2003 est.) 1,329,579.

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