| Bogotá savanna | |
|---|---|
| Sabana de Bogotá | |
 The Bogotá savanna near the city of Bogotá | |
 Topography and outline of the Bogotá savanna | |
| Area | 4,251.6 km2 (1,641.6 sq mi) |
| Geology | |
| Type | Montane savanna |
| Geography | |
| Country | Colombia |
| State | Cundinamarca |
| Region | Andean region |
| Population center | Bogotá |
| Borders on | East:Eastern Hills South:Sumapaz mountains North: Hills ofTausa andSuesca West: Western hills |
| Coordinates | 4°45′0″N74°10′30″W / 4.75000°N 74.17500°W /4.75000; -74.17500 |
| River | Bogotá,Teusacá,Torca,Juan Amarillo,Fucha,Tunjuelo |
| [1] | |
TheBogotá savanna is amontane savanna, located in the southwestern part of theAltiplano Cundiboyacense in the center ofColombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of 4,251.6 square kilometres (1,641.6 sq mi) and an average altitude of 2,650 metres (8,690 ft). The savanna is situated in theEastern Ranges of the ColombianAndes.
The Bogotá savanna is crossed from northeast to southwest by the 375 kilometres (233 mi) longBogotá River, which at the southwestern edge of the plateau forms theTequendama Falls (Salto del Tequendama). Other rivers, such as theSubachoque,Bojacá,Fucha,Soacha andTunjuelo Rivers, tributaries of the Bogotá River, form smaller valleys with very fertile soils dedicated to agriculture and cattle-breeding.
Before theSpanish conquest of the Bogotá savanna, the area was inhabited by the indigenousMuisca, who formed a loose confederation of variouscaciques, named theMuisca Confederation. The Bogotá savanna, known asMuyquytá, was ruled by thezipa. The people specialised inagriculture, the mining ofemeralds,trade and especially the extraction ofrock salt from rocks inZipaquirá,Nemocón,Tausa and other areas on the Bogotá savanna. The salt extraction, a task exclusively of theMuisca women, gave the Muisca the name "The Salt People".
In April 1536, a group of around 800conquistadors left the relative safety of the Caribbean coastal city ofSanta Marta to start a strenuous expedition up theMagdalena River, the main fluvial artery of Colombia. Word got around among the Spanish colonisers that deep in the unknown Andes, a rich area with an advanced civilisation must exist. These tales bore the -not so much- legend ofEl Dorado; the city or man of gold. The Muisca, skilledgoldworkers, held a ritual inLake Guatavita where the newzipa would cover himself in gold dust and jump from araft into the cold waters of the 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) high lake to the northeast of the Bogotá savanna.
After a journey of almost a year, where the Spanish lost over 80% of their soldiers, the conquistadors following theSuárez River, reached the Bogotá savanna in March 1537. Thezipa who ruled the Bogotá savanna at the arrival of the Spanish wasTisquesusa. The Muisca posed little resistance to the Spanish strangers and Tisquesusa was defeated in April 1537 inFunza, in the centre of the savanna. He fled towards the western hills and died of his wounds inFacatativá, on the southwestern edge of the Bogotá savanna. The Spanish conquistadorGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada established theNew Kingdom of Granada with capital Santa Fe de Bogotá on August 6, 1538. This started a process of colonisation, evangelisation and submittance of the Muisca to the new rule. Between 65 and 80% of the indigenous people perished due to European diseases assmallpox andtyphus. The Spanish introduced new crops, replacing many of theNew World crops that the Muisca cultivated.
Over the course of the 16th to early 20th century, the Bogotá savanna was sparsely populated and industrialised. The rise in population during the twentieth century and the expansion of agriculture and urbanisation reduced the biodiversity and natural habitat of the Bogotá savanna severely. Today, theMetropolitan Area of Bogotá on the Bogotá savanna hosts more than ten million people. Bogotá is the biggest city worldwide at altitudes above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft). The many rivers on the savanna are highly contaminated and efforts to solve the environmental problems are conducted in the 21st century.
Bogotá savanna is named after Bogotá, which is derived fromMuysccubunBacatá, which means "(Enclosure) outside of the farm fields".[2]
The Bogotá savanna is the southwestern part of the larger Andean plateau, the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. The savanna is amontane savanna, bordered to the east by theEastern Hills, theSumapaz mountains in the south, the hills ofTausa andSuesca in the north and western hills of Cundinamarca in the west. The total surface area is 4,251.6 square kilometres (1,641.6 sq mi).[1]
The average temperature of the plateau is 14 °C (57 °F), but this can fluctuate between 0 and 24 °C (32 and 75 °F). The dry and rainy seasons alternate frequently during the year. The driest months are December, January, February and March. During the rainy months, the temperature tends to be more stable with variations between 9 and 20 °C (48 and 68 °F). June, July and August are the months that present the largest variations of temperature, and during the morning frost in the higher terrains surrounding the savanna is possible. Sometimes also ground frost is present, which has a negative impact on agriculture. Hail is a relatively common phenomenon on the savanna.[3][4]
There is a system ofwetlands (humedales) that regulate the soil moisture acting like sponges for the rain waters. Fifteen wetlands have a protected status, with various wetlands as unprotected. In 1950, the total surface area of the wetlands amounted to 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres), but due to the urbanisation of the Colombian capital the total area has been reduced to 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres).[6]
| Map |
|---|
| Wetland | Location | Altitude (m) | Area (ha) | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guaymaral y Torca | Usaquén Suba | 2547 | 73 | [7][8] |  |
| La Conejera | Suba | 2544 | 58.9 | [9] |  |
| Córdoba | Suba | 2548 | 40.51 | [10] |  |
| Tibabuyes Juan Amarillo | Suba Engativá | 2539 | 222.58 | [11] |  |
| Jaboque | Engativá | 2539 | 148 | [12] |  |
| Santa María del Lago | Engativá | 2549 | 12 | [13] |  |
| El Burro | Kennedy | 2541 | 18.84 | [14] |  |
| La Vaca | Kennedy | 2548 | 7.96 | [15] | |
| Techo | Techo, Kennedy | 2545 | 11.46 | [16] | |
| Capellanía | Fontibón | 2542 | 27.05 | [17] |  |
| Meandro del Say | Fontibón Mosquera | 2548 | 13.6 | [18] | |
| Tibanica | Bosa Soacha | 2542 | 28.8 | [19] | |
| El Salitre | Barrios Unidos | 2558 | 6.4 | [20] | |
| La Isla | Bosa | 2550 | 7.7 | [21] | |
| La Florida | Funza | 2542 | 26 | [22] |  |
Despite the continuous urbanisation and industrial activities, the Bogotá savanna is a rich biodiverse area with many bird species registered.[23] The diversity of mammals, amphibians and reptiles is much lower.[24] Before the arrival of the European colonisers, the savanna was populated predominantly bywhite-tailed deer, the main ingredient of theMuisca cuisine. Today, this species of deer, as well as the once commonspectacled bear, is restricted to protected areas surrounding the Bogotá savanna. TheThomas van der Hammen Natural Reserve is aprotected area in the north of Bogotá.
The earliest confirmed inhabitation of present-day Colombia was on the Bogotá savanna withsitesEl Abra,Tequendama andTibitó, where semi-nomadichunter-gatherers lived in caves and rock shelters. One of the first evidences of settlement in open area space wasAguazuque, whose oldest dated remains are analysed to be 5000 years old. This prehistoricalpreceramic period was followed by theHerrera Period, commonly defined from 800 BCE to 800 AD.
At the arrival of theSpanishconquistadors, the region was inhabited by theMuisca who lived in hundreds of small villages scattered across the plateau. These villages were individually ruled bycaciques who at the same time paid tribute to thezipa, ruler of Bacatá. The Muisca were known as "The Salt People", thanks to their extraction ofrock salt from brines in large pots heated over fires. This process was the exclusive task of theMuisca women.
Theeconomy of the Muisca, meaning "person" or "people" in their indigenous version ofChibcha;Muysccubun, was self-sufficient due to the advancedagriculture on the fertile soils of the frequently flooding Bogotá savanna. More tropical and subtropical agricultural products asavocadoes andcotton weretraded with their neighbours, in particular theGuane andLache in the north and northeast and theGuayupe,Achagua andTegua in the east.
The Muisca were known as skilledgoldworkers, represented in the famousMuisca raft, that symbolises the initiation ritual of the newzipa inLake Guatavita. This ritual, where thezipa covered himself in gold dust and jumped in the 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) altitude lake, gave rise to the -not so much- legend ofEl Dorado.
In April 1536, a group of around 800conquistadors left the relative safety of the Caribbean coastal city ofSanta Marta to start a strenuous expedition up theMagdalena River, the main fluvial artery of Colombia. Word got around among the Spanish colonisers that deep in the unknown Andes, a rich area with an advanced civilisation must exist. These tales bore the -not so much- legend ofEl Dorado; the city or man of gold. The Muisca, skilledgoldworkers, held a ritual inLake Guatavita where the newzipa would cover himself in gold dust and jump from araft into the cold waters of the 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) high lake to the northeast of the Bogotá savanna.
After a journey of almost a year, where the Spanish lost over 80% of their soldiers, the conquistadors following theSuárez River, reached the Bogotá savanna in March 1537. Thezipa who ruled the Bogotá savanna at the arrival of the Spanish wasTisquesusa. The Muisca posed little resistance to the Spanish strangers and Tisquesusa was defeated in April 1537 inFunza, in the centre of the savanna. He fled towards the western hills and died of his wounds inFacatativá, on the southwestern edge of the Bogotá savanna. The Spanish conquistadorGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada established theNew Kingdom of Granada with capital Santa Fe de Bogotá on August 6, 1538. This started a process of colonisation, evangelisation and submittance of the Muisca to the new rule. Between 65 and 80% of the indigenous people perished due to European diseases assmallpox andtyphus. The Spanish introduced new crops, replacing many of theNew World crops that the Muisca cultivated.
The Spanish colonizers engaged in the construction of Spanish-style towns to replace all the indigenous villages and in the process of assimilation and religious convert of the Muisca. The majority of those villages kept their indigenous names, but some were slightly modified in time, likeSuacha which becameSoacha,Hyntiba becomingFontibón andBacatá becomingBogotá.
Over the course of the 16th to early 20th century, the Bogotá savanna was sparsely populated and industrialised. The rise in population during the twentieth century and the expansion of agriculture and urbanisation reduced the biodiversity and natural habitat of the Bogotá savanna severely. Today, theMetropolitan Area of Bogotá on the Bogotá savanna hosts more than ten million people. Bogotá is the biggest city worldwide at altitudes above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft). The many rivers on the savanna are highly contaminated and efforts to solve the environmental problems are conducted in the 21st century.
| Timeline of inhabitation of the Bogotá savanna, Colombia | |
 | .png)  |
The main cities of the Bogotá savanna, in addition to the capital city ofBogotá, are:Mosquera,Soacha,Madrid,Funza,Facatativá,Subachoque,El Rosal,Tabio,Tenjo,Cota,Chía,Cajicá,Zipaquirá,Nemocón,Sopó,Tocancipá,Gachancipá,Sesquilé,Suesca,Chocontá andGuatavita.[26]
| Panoramas |
|---|
 Panorama of the Tena Valley to the southwest of the Bogotá savanna, nearSan Antonio del Tequendama  The northwestern part of the ancient Lake Humboldt is artificially represented in theNeusa Reservoir La Conejera wetland |
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) | Administrative subdivision in 20 localities | .svg) | |
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Sedimentary basins of Colombia | ||||||||
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| Source | Barrero, Dario; Pardo, Andrés; Vargas, Carlos A.; Martínez, Juan F. (2007).Colombian Sedimentary Basins: Nomenclature, Boundaries and Petroleum Geology, a New Proposal.ANH. pp. 1–92. | |||||||
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