Montevideo is a department (departamento) of Uruguay. It is by far the smallest one in area, and the most populated as well. It contains the city of Montevideo, capital of Uruguay. While most of the department is covered by the capital city, there are still smaller towns within its limits, e.g. Santiago Vázquez near the border with San José, which serve mostly as satellite towns, and have still not merged with the rest of the city.