Boyacá

Boyaca Department Departamento de Boyacá
Department of Colombia
Simón Bolívar square, Tunja
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Boyacá, in red, in Colombia
Coordinates: 5°32′N 73°22′W
Country	Colombia
Capital	Tunja
Municipalities	123
Government
• Governor	Carlos Andrés Amaya Rodríguez
Area
• Total	23,189 km2 (8,953 sq mi)
Population  (2005)
• Total	1,255,311
• Density	54/km2 (140/sq mi)
Demonym	Boyacense
Time zone	UTC-5 (UTC)
Postal code	15
ISO 3166 code	CO-BOY
Website	Gobernación de Boyacá

Boyacá is one of the 32 departments of Colombia. It is in the central northeastern part of the country, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end of the department extends to the Magdalena River. Its capital is Tunja.

Boyacá is known as "The Land of Freedom" because in this region there were several battles that resulted in the independence of Colombia from Spain.

History

The Puente de Boyacá is one of the most famous places in this department.

The territory of present-day Boyacá was inhabited, during the Pre-Columbian time, by Muisca indigenous peoples. They lived mainly by agriculture and mining gold and emeralds.

The first European to discover the area was the Spaniard Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. In 1539, Gonzalo Suárez Rendón, a Spanish colonist, founded the city of Tunja and other places. Tunja became one of the main political and economic centers for the Spanish during the "Viceroyalty of New Granada".

During the 19th century Boyaca was battleground of several important battles during the war of Independence; two of the most important were the "Battle of the Pantano de Vargas" (Vargas Swamp Battle) on 25 July 1819, and the "Battle of Boyacá" on 7 August 1819.

Geography

The Boyacá department is in the Andean region over the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera (the eastern section of the Andes in Colombia). It borders 8 departments: Santander and Norte de Santander to the north, Arauca and Casanare to the east, Cundinamarca and Meta to the south, and Caldas and Antioquia to the west. It also borders with Venezuela.

Boyacá has an area of 23,189 km² (8,953 sq mi), most of it on a plateau. Its highest point is Ritacuba Blanco (6°29′40″N 72°17′47″W) in the Eastern Cordillera; it is 5,410 m (17,749 ft) high.

Many rivers start in this area; the most important are the Chicamocha and Arauca rivers, tributaries to other important rivers such as the Magdalena and Meta rivers.

Boyacá also has numerous lakes; the largest, and the largest in Colombia, is the Lake Tota with an area of 55 km² (21 sq mi).

Climate

The area around Tunja, at an altitude of about 2,828 m (9,278 ft), is characterized by climates with few extremes of temperature and ample precipitation in all months. The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Tunja is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "Cfb".

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Tunja is 645.2 mm (25.4 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is October with 86.4 mm (3.4 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is January with an average of 15.2 mm (0.6 in). There is an average of 179.0 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in May with 19.0 days and the least precipitation occurring in January with 6.0 days.

The average temperature for the year in Tunja is 13.2 °C (55.8 °F). The warmest month, on average, is March with an average temperature of 14.1 °C (57.4 °F). The coolest month on average is July, with an average temperature of 12.2 °C (54.0 °F).

Climate data for Tunja, Colombia
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	19.1 (66.4)	19.3 (66.7)	19.2 (66.6)	18.4 (65.1)	17.3 (63.1)	16.4 (61.5)	16.0 (60.8)	16.5 (61.7)	17.3 (63.1)	17.9 (64.2)	18.2 (64.8)	18.4 (65.1)	17.8 (64.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)	13.2 (55.8)	13.7 (56.7)	14.1 (57.4)	14.1 (57.4)	13.5 (56.3)	12.8 (55.0)	12.2 (54.0)	12.3 (54.1)	12.8 (55.0)	13.3 (55.9)	13.6 (56.5)	13.1 (55.6)	13.2 (55.8)
Average low °C (°F)	7.2 (45.0)	8.1 (46.6)	9.0 (48.2)	9.7 (49.5)	9.7 (49.5)	9.1 (48.4)	8.4 (47.1)	8.2 (46.8)	8.2 (46.8)	8.7 (47.7)	9.0 (48.2)	7.8 (46.0)	8.6 (47.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	16 (0.6)	29 (1.1)	55 (2.2)	77 (3.0)	84 (3.3)	58 (2.3)	46 (1.8)	42 (1.7)	54 (2.1)	85 (3.3)	69 (2.7)	31 (1.2)	646 (25.3)
Source: Weatherbase.com [1]

Provinces and Municipalities

There are 13 provinces and two special districts in the Boyacá Department, listed below with their 123 municipalities. The provincial capitals are in bold.

Provinces of the Boyacá department

Centro

1. Cómbita
2. Cucaita
3. Chíquiza
4. Chivatá
5. Motavita
6. Oicatá
7. Siachoque
8. Samacá
9. Sora
10. Soracá
11. Sotaquirá
12. Toca
13. Tunja
14. Tuta
15. Ventaquemada

Gutiérrez

1. Chiscas
2. El Cocuy
3. El Espino
4. Guacamayas
5. Güicán
6. Panqueba

La Libertad

1. Labranzagrande
2. Pajarito
3. Paya
4. Pisba

Lengupá

1. Berbeo
2. Campohermoso
3. Miraflores
4. Páez
5. San Eduardo
6. Zetaquirá

Occidente

1. Briceño
2. Buenavista
3. Caldas
4. Chiquinquirá
5. Coper
6. La Victoria
7. Maripí
8. Muzo
9. Otanche
10. Pauna
11. Quipama
12. Saboyá
13. San Miguel de Sema
14. San Pablo de Borbur
15. Tununguá

Márquez

1. Boyacá
2. Ciénaga
3. Jenesano
4. Nuevo Colón
5. Ramiriquí
6. Rondón
7. Tibaná
8. Turmequé
9. Úmbita
10. Viracachá

Neira

1. Chinavita
2. Garagoa
3. Macanal
4. Pachavita
5. San Luis de Gaceno
6. Santa María

Norte

1. Boavita
2. Covarachía
3. La Uvita
4. San Mateo
5. Sativanorte
6. Sativasur
7. Soatá
8. Susacón
9. Tipacoque

Oriente

1. Almeida
2. Chivor
3. Guateque
4. Guayatá
5. La Capilla
6. Somondoco
7. Sutatenza
8. Tenza

Ricaurte

1. Arcabuco
2. Chitaraque
3. Gachantivá
4. Moniquirá
5. Ráquira
6. Sáchica
7. San José de Pare
8. Santa Sofía
9. Santana
10. Sutamarchán
11. Tinjacá
12. Togüí
13. Villa de Leyva

Sugamuxi

1. Aquitania
2. Cuítiva
3. Firavitoba
4. Gámeza
5. Iza
6. Mongua
7. Monguí
8. Nobsa
9. Pesca
10. Sogamoso
11. Tibasosa
12. Tópaga
13. Tota

Tundama

1. Belén
2. Busbanzá
3. Cerinza
4. Corrales
5. Duitama
6. Floresta
7. Paipa
8. Santa Rosa de Viterbo
9. Tutasá, Boyacá

Valderrama

1. Betéitiva
2. Chita
3. Jericó
4. Paz de Río
5. Socotá
6. Socha
7. Tasco

Distrito Fronterizo

1. Cubará

Special Handling Zone

1. Puerto Boyacá

Demographics

The inhabitants of the Boyacá department are known, in Spanish, as Boyacense.

Boyacá had a population, in 2005, of 1,255,311, for a population density of 54.1 inhabitants/km².

Population history in Boyacá

The 10 municipalities with more inhabitants in the Boyacá department are:

City	Population (2005)	Province
Tunja	154,096	Centro
Sogamoso	117,094	Sugamuxi
Duitama	107,406	Tundama
Chiquinquirá	55,786	Occidente
Puerto Boyacá	50,301	Special Handling Zone
Paipa	27,766	Tundama
Moniquirá	21,852	Ricaurte
Samacá	17,614	Centro
Garagoa	16,520	Neira
Villa de Leyva	12,032	Ricaurte

Economy

Farming is an important activity; some crops grown here are sugarcane, coffee and cacao. Cattle raising is also important.

Mining is also an important activity, mainly of emerald and coal.

Places of interest

Some places of interest in the department are:

• Monument to the Lancers (Spanish: Monumento a los Lanceros) a memorial for Vargas Swamp Battle. It is the largest monument in Colombia.
• Villa de Leyva is a touristic colonial town and municipality. The town is at 37 kilometres (23 mi) west of the departmental capital Tunja.
• Battleground of the Battle of Boyacá, to the south of Tunja.
• Puente de Boyacá (in English: The Bridge of Boyacá) is a small bridge at 14 km (8.7 mi) to the west of Tunja. It commemorates the historic battle of 7 August 1819 known as the Battle of Boyacá.
• Lake Tota, the largest lake of fresh water of the country.
• Basílica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Chiquinquirá. Our Lady of the Rosary is the patron saint of Colombia.

Gallery

• 
  The Ritacuba Blanco mountain
• 
  Monument to the Lancers
• 
  A street in Villa de Leyva
• 
  Lake Tota
• 
  Our Lady of the Rosary Basilica, Chiquinquirá
• 
  Duitama downtown
• 
  Tunja historical centre by night
• 
  Bridge of Boyacá