| Department of Putumayo | |
| Native Name: | Departamento del Putumayo |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Type: | Department |
| Image Map1: | Putumayo Topographic 2.png |
| Map Caption1: | Topography of the department |
| Coordinates: | 1.15°N -113°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Colombia |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Amazonía Region |
| Parts Type: | Largest city |
| Parts Style: | para |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1991 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Provinces |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Municipalities |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 13 |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Mocoa |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Sorrel Parisa Aroca Rodriguez(2016-2019) |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 24885 |
| Area Rank: | 16th |
| Population Footnotes: | [3] |
| Population Total: | 348182 |
| Population As Of: | 2018 |
| Population Rank: | 26th |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | GDP |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics1 Info1: | COP 5,617 billion (US$ 1.3 billion) |
| Timezone1: | UTC-05 |
| Iso Code: | CO-PUT |
| Blank Name Sec2: | HDI (2019) |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 0.717[4] · 26th of 33 |
| Website: | www.putumayo.gov.co |
Putumayo (pronounced as /es/) is a department of Southern Colombia. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Ecuador and Peru. Its capital is Mocoa.
The word putumayo comes from the Quechua languages. The verb p'utuy means "to spring forth" or "to burst out", and mayu means river. Thus it means "gushing river".
Originally, the southwestern area of the department belonged to the Cofán Indians, the northwestern to the Kamentxá Indians, the central and southern areas to tribes that spoke Tukano languages (such as the Siona), and the eastern to tribes that spoke Witoto languages. Part of the Kamentxá territory was conquered by the Inca Huayna Cápac in 1492, who, after crossing the Cofán territory, established a Quechua population on the valley of Sibundoy, known today as Ingas. After the Inca defeat in 1533, the region was invaded by the Spanish in 1542, and from 1547 was administered by Catholic missions.
The current territory of Putumayo was linked to Popayan during the Spanish Colonial Period and in the first Republican decades belonged to the "Azuay Department", which included territories in Ecuador and Perú. Later a long process of territorial redistributions began: