Acandí

Acandí
Municipality and town
Flag Seal
Location of the municipality and town of Acandí in the Chocó Department of Colombia.
Country	Colombia
Department	Chocó Department
Area
• Total	1,551 km2 (599 sq mi)
Population
• Total	9,756
Time zone	UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)

Acandí is a town in Colombia situated at the northern end of the department of Chocó in northwest of Colombia, bordering the Caribbean Sea. It is located 366 km from the provincial capital, Quibdó. Its average temperature is 28 degrees Celsius. It was founded around the year 1887, and it became a municipality in 1905, previously being part of Turbo. the name Acandí is a corruption of the indigenous word "Acanti" which means "River of Stone", a name that was bastardized by the current population.

It is one of the constituent territories of the region of Darién, together with the towns of Unguía Jurado and the municipality of Riosucio west of Atrato river.

History

The name Acandí is derived from the Acandí tribe which means "River of Stones". The first the town of Acandí was founded in c. 1890 by Spanish settlers Concepcion Gomez, Fermin Avila, Jose Piestan, Jose Garrido and others with the name of San Nicolas de Titumate and was located at the western shore of the Acandí River but was constantly flooded and devastated by this river. The inhabitants moved the village to its current safer location in 1896.

The municipality of Acandí was created on August 5, 1908, by an ordinance of the same year.

Geography and climate

Its urban area is located by the Caribbean sea in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Urabá Some 558 km away from the capital Quibdó. The municipality has an area of 869 km² and borders to the north with the Caribbean sea, to the south with the municipality of Unguía and to the west with the Republic of Panama.

Economy

The main economic activities of Acandí are agriculture, livestock raising, artisan fishing and informal commerce. The main agricultural products are maize, plantain and yuca. The municipality also covers the tourism hub Capurganá, located near the border with Panama.

Transportation

Acandí has a small seaport at the Caribbean sea mainly utilizing it to communicate with other nearby ports in Colombia and Panama. The Atrato River is also used for transportation and a way to reach the Departmental capital of Quibdó. The town also has a small airport, Alcides Fernández Airport (Airport class G. 1,200 m long, 10 m wide) that can receive light planes and is used primarily to fly to Quibdó or towns in the Antioquia Department. It is owned by the Colombian government agency INCORA.

Inhabitants also use the nearby airfields in Capurganá:

• Capurganá Airport - Airport class F. located in the police inspection of Capurganá. 852 m long, 12 m wide and operated by the municipality.
• El Gilcal Airport- Airport class G. 500 m long, 15 m wide and owned by the municipality.