Bahía Portete – Kaurrele National Natural Park

Bahía Portete – Kaurrele National Natural Park
PNN Bahía Portete – Kaurrele
Bahía Hondita, close to the park
PNN Bahía Portete – Kaurrele
Location	Colombia
Nearest city	Uribia
Coordinates	12°07′00″N 72°02′00″W / 12.11667°N 72.03333°W / 12.11667; -72.03333Coordinates: 12°07′00″N 72°02′00″W / 12.11667°N 72.03333°W / 12.11667; -72.03333
Area	14,080 ha (54.4 sq mi)
Designation	National Natural Park
Established	20 December 2014
Administrator	SINAP
Official website

Bahía Portete – Kaurrele National Natural Park (Spanish: PNN Bahía Portete – Kaurrele) is a national natural park in Uribia, La Guajira, Colombia. The northernmost national park of mainland South America is located at the Caribbean coast of the La Guajira peninsula in Bahía Portete, between Cabo de la Vela and Punta Gallinas. Established on December 20, 2014, it is the most recently designated national park of the country. As of 2017, 59 nationally defined protected areas are incorporated in Colombia. The park hosts a high number of marine and terrestrial species.

Bahía Portete – Kaurrele National Natural Park, with an area of 14,080 hectares (34,800 acres), is located in the extreme north of Colombia, at the northern coast of La Guajira peninsula between Cabo de la Vela and Punta Gallinas, Colombia's mainland northernmost point. The park is within the boundaries of the municipality Uribia. The climate is hot and arid, due to the desert of La Guajira. Average temperatures range between 28 and 30 °C (82 and 86 °F). The coastal area is characterised by humidity caused by the inland winds. The marine bay area has an average depth of 9 metres (30 ft), ranging from 3 to 20 metres (9.8 to 65.6 ft).

At the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century, the bay was known as El Portichuelo, an area where slaves were brought into Colonial Colombia. The sparsely populated area is inhabited by approximately 500 indigenous Wayuu. On April 18, 2004, approximately forty paramilitaries tortured and assassinated six people, four of which were women. They burned various houses and dishonoured their cementaries. More than 600 Wayuu fled to Venezuela.