CUNDINAMARCA
Inhabitant: Cundinamarques
The department of Cundinamarca is situated in the heart of Colombia, on
an immense plateau of the eastern
cordillera (mountain range).
Cundinamarca has approximately 2,145,000 inhabitants, excluding Bogota,
its capital, which has a population of 8,000,000.
Gonzalo Jiménez of Quesada was the first Spanish conqueror to
step on the lands of the Chibcha, or Muisca
, nation in 1538.
In the center of the region, where there used to be the town of the
zipa called Bacatá, Jiménez de Quesada founded
the city of Santa Fe (today Bogota) which became the center of
government for the enormous territory called
El Nuevo Reino
de Granada (“the New Kingdom of Granada”).
La Real Audiencia
de Santa Fe (“the Royal Court of Santa Fe”) was established there.
In the
Nuevo Reino de Granada, the
Virreinato de la Nueva
Granada ("the Viceroyality of the New Granada") was
subsequently established. Its area comprised what are today the
countries of Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela.
The State of Cundinamarca was founded in 1811, almost 300 years after
the Spanish conquest. Its first president was the erudite Jorge Tadeo
Lozano.
In 1858 the Sovereign State of Cundinamarca was established according to
the Granadina
Confederation Constitution. On January
first, 1886, the DEPARTMENT OF CUNDINAMARCA was founded with the
boundaries it has today.
It borders the departments of Boyacá, Tolima, Huila, Caldas and
Meta. Its area is 24,210 square kilometers.
The department is divided into three geographical zones. The Valley of
the Magdalena River, the region of the Sumapaz and part of the eastern
cordillera are found in the west. The savannah of Bogota and
the valleys of Ubaté and Simijaca are in the center and the
foothills of the eastern
cordillera and the foot plains are
found in the central-eastern region of the department.
Cudinamarca's variety of climates and its fertile lands, makes it one of
Colombia's best agricultural regions. Flower cultivation is very
important and its soil grows the prettiest and widest assortment of
flowers in the country.
There are also important industrial reservoirs like Muña,
Guatavita, Sisga, Tominé, El Hato, Neusa , Guavio and the San
Rafael dam.
The Zipaquirá salt mines are significant mining operations.
In this territory are the national natural parks of Chingaza and
Sumapaz. There are beautiful natural lakes such as the Fúquene,
which has a geomagnetic observatory on one of its islands, the Suesca,
the Cucunubá and the Guatavita, with native legends like El
Dorado,
Parks of recreation:
Parque Jaime Duque located between the
municipality of Tocancipá and Sopó, hosts cultural,
educational, and entertainment activities. It also houses museums with
replicas of works of art and famous places of the world, an immense
relief map of Colombia and an amusement park.
The farming national park
Panaca Sabana is located near
Zipaquirá and houses 2,400 animals of 800 different species. It
has an area of 620 square kilometers.
Capital: Bogotá
Bogota, D.C. (Capital District, with an independent
administration).
Bogota is both the capital of Cundinamarca Department and the capital of
the Republic of Colombia. It is Colombia's largest, most prosperous, and
most industrialized city. It is also the cultural, social, economic, and
political centre of the country.
For extensive information about Bogota, click on the button
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