SANTANDER

departamento, north-central Colombia, occupying the Magdalena River valley and the Andean Cordillera Oriental. Established in 1886, it occupies an area of 11,790 square miles (30,537 square km). It is the principal petroleum-producing departamento of Colombia, with production centring on Barrancabermeja. Its agricultural products are dominated by tobacco; the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes is an important industry. Coffee is grown on the temperate midslopes of the Andes. Sharecropping on coffee farms and tobacco farms is common. The Industrial University of Santander was founded in 1947. A railroad connects the departmental capital, Bucaramanga, with the Magdalena River at Puerto Wilches. Pop. (1985) 1,511,392. port city and capital of Cantabria provincia and the comunidad autnoma (autonomous community) of Cantabria, northern Spain. It is sited on the southern shore of Cape Mayor, a rocky peninsula extending eastward and sheltering the Santander Bay (an inlet of the Bay of Biscay). The city's excellent harbour was possibly the site of the Roman colony of Portus Victoriae. The centre of the lower town was rebuilt after it was destroyed by fire spread by a windstorm in 1941. Notable surviving buildings include the Magdalena Palace, presented by the town to King Alfonso XIII; a Gothic cathedral; the library of the contemporary writer and historian Marcelino Menndez y Pelayo; and the provincial museum, with a large collection of prehistoric artifacts from the locality. Santander has a summer university and is an episcopal see. The University of Santander was founded in 1972. The economy is based on fishing, iron refining, and activities connected with the port (shipbuilding). Manufactures are varied. Pop. (1982 est.) city, 184,094; (1990 est.) mun., 194,221.