Quindio

Small department in west-central Colombia, situated in the Andes; area 1,845 sq km/712 sq mi; population (1996) 495,212. The capital is Armenia. Coffee is Quindio's main product. Bananas, sorghum, and sugar cane are also cultivated. There is also some cattle-grazing. A flourishing food-processing industry has developed in the capital, which is now one of Colombia's major commercial and tourist centres.

The area was devastated in January 1999 by a powerful earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. Armenia was the worst affected, both by the earthquake and the looting and civil unrest that followed.