Map - Uribia, La Guajira (Uribia)

Uribia is town and municipality of the La Guajira department of Colombia. It is the youngest municipality of this Department since the year 2000. Northern Zone of the Cerrejón coal mines are located in this municipality. The municipality also contains the Serranía de Macuira mountain range which is an isolated low altitude mountain range in the middle of La Guajira Desert. One third of this mountain range is also a National Natural Park of Colombia.

The Municipality of Uribia covers most of the northern area of the Guajira Peninsula, the northernmost part of South America. Uribia borders to the north and west with the Caribbean Sea which surround more than half the municipality; to the east Uribia has a short border with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; to the south its borders the municipality of Maicao and southwest the municipality of Riohacha.

The Upper Guajira is arid, presenting clay formations with scarce vegetation of cactus and other xerophiles. The Serranía de Macuira lies in the middle of the upper region presenting three predominant hills 650 m or more above sea level in the Macuira, Jarará and La Teta.

Uribia has an arid climate (Köppen BWh) owing to its extremely hot temperatures that average around 30 C on most days of the year. Rainfall averages around 360 mm per year but even in the “wet” months of May, September, October and November it does not reach the level of potential evaporation. Humidity is generally high enough to make the consistent heat very uncomfortable.