Bogotá savanna

The Bogotá savanna is a high plateau located in the center of Colombia in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. It is the southern part of a larger plateau called Altiplano Cundiboyacense that rises to an average altitude of 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) above sea level.

This plateau is crossed from north to south by the Bogotá River, which at the southwestern edge of the plateau forms the Tequendama Falls (Salto del Tequendama). Other rivers, tributaries of the Bogotá river, form smaller valleys with very fertile soils dedicated to agriculture and cattle-breeding.

Etymology

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

History

The earliest confirmed inhabitation of present-day Colombia was on the Bogotá savanna with sites El Abra, Tequendama and Tibitó, were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers lives in caves and rock shelters. This prehistorical preceramic period was followed by the Herrera Period.

At the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors the region was inhabited by the Muisca people who lived in hundreds of 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. After the defeat of the Muisca rulers, Bogotá was founded and 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.

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.^[2]

Climate

The average temperature of the plateau is 14 °C, but this can fluctuate between 0 °C and 24 °C. The dry and rainy seasons alternate frequently during the year. The dry months are December, January, February and March. During the rainy months the temperature tends to be more stable with variations between 9 °C and 20 °C. June, July and August are the months that present the largest variations of temperature, and during the morning frost is regular, which has a negative impact on agriculture. Hail or ice storms are also common.

Hydrology

There is a system of swamps (humedales) that regulate the soil moisture acting like sponges for the rain waters. The most important wetlands are: La Conejera, El Burro, Jaboque, Santa María del Lago, Tibabuyes, Córdoba and Guaymaral.