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The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of 4,251.6 square kilometres (1,641.6 sq mi) and an average altitude of 2,550 metres (8,370 ft). The savanna is situated in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes.

The Bogotá savanna is crossed from northeast to southwest by the 375 kilometres (233 mi) long Bogotá River, which at the southwestern edge of the plateau forms the Tequendama Falls (Salto del Tequendama). Other rivers, such as the Subachoque, Bojacá, Fucha, Soacha and Tunjuelo Rivers, tributaries of the Bogotá River, form smaller valleys with very fertile soils dedicated to agriculture and cattle-breeding.

Before the Spanish conquest of the Bogotá savanna, the area was inhabited by the indigenous Muisca, who formed a loose confederation of various caciques, named the Muisca Confederation. The Bogotá savanna, known as Bacatá, was ruled by the zipa. The people specialised in agriculture, the mining of emeralds, trade and especially the extraction of rock salt from rocks in Zipaquirá, Nemocón, Tausa and other areas on the Bogotá savanna. The salt extraction, a task exclusively of the Muisca women, gave the Muisca the name "The Salt People".

In April 1536, a group of around 800 conquistadors left the relative safety of the Caribbean coastal city of Santa Marta to start a strenuous expedition up the Magdalena 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 of El Dorado; the city or man of gold. The Muisca, skilled goldworkers, held a ritual in Lake Guatavita where the new zipa would cover himself in gold dust and jump from a raft 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 the Suárez River, reached the Bogotá savanna in March 1537. The zipa who ruled the Bogotá savanna at the arrival of the Spanish was Tisquesusa. The Muisca posed little resistance to the Spanish strangers and Tisquesusa was defeated in April 1537 in Funza, in the centre of the savanna. He fled towards the western hills and died of his wounds in Facatativá, on the southwestern edge of the Bogotá savanna. The Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada established the New 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 as smallpox and typhus. The Spanish introduced new crops, replacing many of the New 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, the Metropolitan 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.

Etymology

The Bogotá savanna is named after Bogotá, which is derived from Muysccubun Bacatá, which means "(Enclosure) outside of the farm fields".^[1]

Geography

Hills of Sesquilé in the northeast of the Bogotá savanna

The Bogotá savanna is the southwestern part of the larger Andean plateau, the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. The savanna is a montane savanna, bordered to the east by the Eastern Hills, the Sumapaz mountains in the south, the hills of Tausa and Suesca 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).^[2]

Climate

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]

Hydrology

Rivers

Bogotá River - 375 kilometres (14,800,000 in)

Lakes

Natural

Lake Guatavita - overlooking the northeastern part of the savanna
Lake Herrera

Artificial

Tominé Reservoir - northeast, biggest waterbody on the Bogotá savanna - 690 cubic megametres (2.4×10²² cu ft)
Neusa Reservoir - north - 102 cubic megametres (3.6×10²¹ cu ft)
El Muña Reservoir - south - 42 cubic megametres (1.5×10²¹ cu ft)
Lake Herrera (since 1973)^[5]

Waterfalls

Tequendama Falls - southwestern limit

Wetlands

There is a system of wetlands (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
class=notpageimage\| Wetlands within Bogotá Torca River basin Juan Amarillo River basin Fucha River basin Tunjuelo River basin

Wetland	Location	Altitude (m)	Area (ha)	Notes
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]

Biodiversity

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 by white-tailed deer, the main ingredient of the Muisca cuisine. Today, this species of deer, as well as the once common spectacled bear, is restricted to protected areas surrounding the Bogotá savanna. The Thomas van der Hammen Natural Reserve is a protected area in the north of Bogotá.

History

Preceramic sites on the Bogotá savanna
Ab - El Abra
Ti - Tibitó
Te - Tequendama
P - Piedras del Tunjo
Ag - Aguazuque
C - Checua
H - Lake Herrera

The earliest confirmed inhabitation of present-day Colombia was on the Bogotá savanna with sites El Abra, Tequendama and Tibitó, where semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers lived in caves and rock shelters. One of the first evidences of settlement in open area space was Aguazuque, whose oldest dated remains are analysed to be 5000 years old. This prehistorical preceramic period was followed by the Herrera Period, commonly defined from 800 BCE to 800 AD.

Muisca Confederation

At the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, the region was inhabited by the Muisca who lived in hundreds of small villages scattered across the plateau. These villages were individually ruled by caciques who at the same time paid tribute to the zipa, ruler of Bacatá. The Muisca were known as "The Salt People", thanks to their extraction of rock salt from brines in large pots heated over fires. This process was the exclusive task of the Muisca women.

The economy of the Muisca, meaning "person" or "people" in their indigenous version of Chibcha; Muysccubun, was self-sufficient due to the advanced agriculture on the fertile soils of the frequently flooding Bogotá savanna. More tropical and subtropical agricultural products as avocadoes and cotton were traded with their neighbours, in particular the Guane and Lache in the north and northeast and the Guayupe, Achagua and Tegua in the east.

The Muisca were known as skilled goldworkers, represented in the famous Muisca raft, that symbolises the initiation ritual of the new zipa in Lake Guatavita. This ritual, where the zipa 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 of El Dorado.

Spanish conquest

In April 1536, a group of around 800 conquistadors left the relative safety of the Caribbean coastal city of Santa Marta to start a strenuous expedition up the Magdalena 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 of El Dorado; the city or man of gold. The Muisca, skilled goldworkers, held a ritual in Lake Guatavita where the new zipa would cover himself in gold dust and jump from a raft 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 the Suárez River, reached the Bogotá savanna in March 1537. The zipa who ruled the Bogotá savanna at the arrival of the Spanish was Tisquesusa. The Muisca posed little resistance to the Spanish strangers and Tisquesusa was defeated in April 1537 in Funza, in the centre of the savanna. He fled towards the western hills and died of his wounds in Facatativá, on the southwestern edge of the Bogotá savanna. The Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada established the New 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 as smallpox and typhus. The Spanish introduced new crops, replacing many of the New 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, like Suacha which became Soacha, Hyntiba becoming Fontibón and Bacatá becoming Bogotá.

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, the Metropolitan 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

Timeline of inhabitation of the Bogotá savanna, Colombia
	Altiplano Muisca Confederation

Cities

The main cities of the Bogotá savanna, in addition to the capital city of Bogotá, are: Mosquera, Soacha, Madrid, Funza, Facatativá, Subachoque, El Rosal, Tabio, Tenjo, Cota, Chía, Cajicá, Zipaquirá, Nemocón, Sopó, Tocancipá, Gachancipá, Sesquilé, Suesca, Chocontá and Guatavita.^[25]

List of municipalities

Municipality Locality	Altitude urban centre (m)	Surface area (km²)	Inhabitants^{[note 1]}	Remarks
Bogotá		1587	7,980,001¹⁶	Named after Bacatá^{[note 2]} Capital of Colombia Biggest city at altitudes above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft)
Usaquén	2650	65.31	449,621¹⁶
Chapinero	2640	38.15	122,507⁰⁷
Santa Fe	2640	45.17	96,241⁰⁷
San Cristóbal	2640	49.09	404,350⁰⁷
Usme	2700	119.04	314,431⁰⁷
Tunjuelito	2600	9.91	182,532⁰⁷
Bosa	2600	23.93	637,283¹⁵
Kennedy	2700	38.59	979,914⁰⁷
Fontibón	2600	33.28	317,179⁰⁷
Engativá	2600	35.88	824,337⁰⁷
Suba	2700	100.56	1,161,500¹⁶
Barrios Unidos	2600	11.9	230,066⁰⁷
Teusaquillo	2600	14.19	139,298⁰⁷
Los Mártires	2600	6.51	94,944⁰⁷
Antonio Nariño	2600	4.88	119,565⁰⁷
Puente Aranda	2600	17.31	250,715⁰⁷
La Candelaria	2640	2.06	22,115⁰⁷
Rafael Uribe Uribe	2600	13.83	378.780⁰⁷
Ciudad Bolívar	2700	130	593,937⁰⁷
Soacha	2565	184.45	522,442¹⁶	Preceramic site Tequendama Herrera site Muisca ceramics production Petrographs found
Sibaté	2700	125.6	38,412¹⁵	Petrographs found El Muña Reservoir
Mosquera	2516	107	82,750¹⁵	Lake Herrera Petrographs found
Bojacá	2598	109	11,254¹⁵	Lake Herrera Petrographs found
Chía	2564	80	129,652¹⁶	Moon Temple Herrera site Petrographs found
Cota	2566	55	24,916¹⁵	Petrographs found Muisca community
Cajicá	2558	50.4	56,875¹⁵	Located in the funnel of the northern savanna
Facatativá	2586	158	134,522¹⁵	Piedras del Tunjo
Funza	2548	70	75,350¹⁵	Muisca market town
Madrid	2554	120.5	77,627¹⁵	Lake Herrera Petrographs found
El Rosal	2685	86.48	17,254¹⁵
Zipacón	2550	70	5570¹⁵	Agriculture Place of meditation for the zipa Petrographs found
Subachoque	2663	211.53	16,117¹⁵	Petrographs found
Tabio	2569	74.5	27,033¹⁵	Hot springs used by the Muisca
Tenjo	2587	108	18,387¹⁵	Petrographs found
Zipaquirá	2650	197	124,376¹⁵	El Abra Muisca salt mines Important market town Petrographs and petroglyphs found
Nemocón	2585	98.1	13,488¹⁵	Muisca salt mines Preceramic site Checua Petrographs found
Cogua	2600	113	22,361¹⁵	Muisca ceramics production Petrographs found Neusa Reservoir
Tocancipá	2605	73.51	31,975¹⁵	Preceramic site Tibitó Muisca ceramics production Important market town Petrographs found
Gachancipá	2568	44	14,442¹⁵	Muisca mummy found Muisca ceramics production
Guasca	2710	346	14,759¹⁵	Siecha Lakes Muisca ceramics production Petrographs found
Guatavita	2680	247.3	6898¹⁵	Muisca ceramics production Main goldworking town Petrographs found Tominé Reservoir
Sopó	2650	111.5	26,769¹⁵	Herrera site
Sesquilé	2595	141	13,936¹⁵	Lake Guatavita Minor Muisca salt mines
Suesca	2584	177	17,318¹⁵	150 Muisca mummies found Lake Suesca Muisca ceramics production Important market town Petrographs found

Panoramas

Panoramas
Panorama of the Tena Valley to the southwest of the Bogotá savanna, near San Antonio del Tequendama Bogotá on the savanna Zipaquirá School in Cota The northwestern part of the ancient Lake Humboldt is artificially represented in the Neusa Reservoir Tominé Reservoir Suba Hills La Conejera wetland

References

^ Template:Es Etymology Bacatá - Banco de la República
^ Pérez Preciado, 2000, p.2
^ "Climate: Bogotá - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Bogota, Colombia". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
^ Template:Es Lake Herrera largest water reserve of the Bogotá savanna
^ Moreno et al., s.a., p.2
^ Humedal Guaymaral
^ Humedal Torca
^ Humedal La Conejera
^ Humedal Córdoba
^ Humedal Tibabuyes
^ Humedal Jaboque
^ Humedal Santa María del Lago
^ Humedal El Burro
^ Humedal La Vaca
^ Humedal Techo
^ Humedal Capellanía
^ Humedal Meandro del Say
^ Humedal Tibanica
^ Humedal El Salitre
^ Humedal La Isla
^ Humedal La Florida
^ Calvachi Zambrano, 2002, p.95
^ Calvachi Zambrano, 2002, p.97
^ Cities on the Bogotá savanna Archived November 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

Notes

^ 07; 2007, 15; 2015, 16; 2016
^ Bacatá refers to the southern part of the Bogotá savanna, ruled by the zipa based in Funza, but with various frequently visited other settlements, visibles in the names Nemocón (Nemequene), Zipacón, Zipaquirá, Tocancipá, Gachancipá

Bibliography

Andrade L., Martha Esperanza, and Henry Benitez Castañeda. s.a. Los Humedales de la Sabana de Bogotá: Área Importante para la Conservación de las Aves de Colombia y el Mundo, 1-38. AICAS. Accessed 2017-03-04.
Calvachi Zambrano, Byron. 2002. La biodiversidad bogotana. Revista La Tadeo 67. 89-98. Accessed 2017-03-04.
Moreno, Vanesa; Juan Francisco García, and Juan Carlos Villalba. s.a. Descripción general de los humedales de Bogotá D.C., 1-28. Sociedad Geográfica de Colombia. Accessed 2017-03-04.
Pérez Preciado, Alfonso. 2000. La estructura ecológica principal de la Sabana de Bogotá, 1-37. Sociedad Geográfica de Colombia. Accessed 2017-03-04.
Sandoval Rincón, Diana Marcela. 2013. Protected Areas in the City, Urban Wetlands of Bogotá. Cuadernos de Vivienda y Urbanismo 6. 80-103. Accessed 2017-03-04.

[1] Template:Es Etymology Bacatá - Banco de la República

[Preciado_p2-2] Pérez Preciado, 2000, p.2

[Climate-Data.org-3] "Climate: Bogotá - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 2016-09-29.

[SUNNY_AND_FOGGY_DAYS-4] "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Bogota, Colombia". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2016-09-29.

[Humedales2-5] Template:Es Lake Herrera largest water reserve of the Bogotá savanna

[Humedales_p2-6] Moreno et al., s.a., p.2

[7] Humedal Guaymaral

[8] Humedal Torca

[9] Humedal La Conejera

[10] Humedal Córdoba

[11] Humedal Tibabuyes

[12] Humedal Jaboque

[13] Humedal Santa María del Lago

[14] Humedal El Burro

[15] Humedal La Vaca

[16] Humedal Techo

[17] Humedal Capellanía

[18] Humedal Meandro del Say

[19] Humedal Tibanica

[20] Humedal El Salitre

[21] Humedal La Isla

[22] Humedal La Florida

[Tadeo_p95-23] Calvachi Zambrano, 2002, p.95

[Tadeo_p97-24] Calvachi Zambrano, 2002, p.97

[25] Cities on the Bogotá savanna Archived November 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

[26] 07; 2007, 15; 2015, 16; 2016

[27] Bacatá refers to the southern part of the Bogotá savanna, ruled by the zipa based in Funza, but with various frequently visited other settlements, visibles in the names Nemocón (Nemequene), Zipacón, Zipaquirá, Tocancipá, Gachancipá

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[note 1]

[note 2]

v t e Bogotá, Capital District
	Administrative subdivision in 20 localities	Usaquén Chapinero Santa Fe San Cristóbal Usme Tunjuelito Bosa Kennedy Fontibón Engativá Suba Barrios Unidos Teusaquillo Los Mártires Antonio Nariño Puente Aranda La Candelaria Rafael Uribe Uribe Ciudad Bolívar Sumapaz
	Metropolitan Area	Bogotá Soacha Chía Facatativá Zipaquirá Mosquera Madrid Funza Cajicá Sibaté Tocancipá La Calera Sopó Tabio Cota Tenjo Gachancipá Bojacá
	Geography	Eastern Hills Guadalupe Monserrate Suba Hills Bogotá River Fucha Juan Amarillo Soacha Tunjuelo Savanna TvdH Reserve Wetlands
	Timeline History Prehistory First inhabitants Muisca Bacatá Conquest and foundation Post-colonial history Categories