Caquetá

Intendency in southern Colombia, located in a tropical rainforest region on the Equator, bounded to the west by the Cordillera Occidental and to the south by the Caquetá River; area 88,965 sq km/34,349 sq mi; population (1996) 367,898. The capital is Florencia. Much of the rainforest that used to cover the region has been cleared to create undulating pasturelands for cattle-grazing. The department, however, is still inhabited by indigenous peoples.