Boyacá Department


Boyacá is one of the thirty-two departments of Colombia, and the remnant of Boyacá State, one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".
Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, 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 at the town of Puerto Boyacá. Boyacá borders to the north with the Department of Santander, to the northeast with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Norte de Santander, to the east with the departments of Arauca and Casanare. To the south, Boyacá borders the department of Cundinamarca and to the west with the Department of Antioquia covering a total area of. The capital of Boyacá is the city of Tunja.
Boyacá is known as "The Land of Freedom" because this region was the scene of a series of battles which led to Colombia's independence from Spain. The first one took place on 25 July 1819 in the Pantano de Vargas and the final and decisive battle known as the Battle of Boyacá was fought on 7 August 1819 at Puente de Boyacá.
Boyacá is home to three universities: the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, the Universidad de Boyacá, and the Saint Thomas Aquinas University.

Origin of the name

The word Boyacá derived from the Chibcha word "Bojacá" which means "Near the cacique", or "Region of the royal mantle".

History

The territory of present-day Boyaca was during the Pre-Columbian time the domain of the Muisca indigenous peoples. The Muisca under the chiefdom of the zaque of Hunza lived mainly by agriculture and mining gold and emeralds.
The first European to discover the area was the Spaniard Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who conquered the northern Muisca living in the area led by last zaque Aquiminzaque and distributed the land in encomiendas and forced the indigenous people to work for him.
In 1539, Gonzalo Suárez Rendón, a Spanish conquistador, founded the city of Tunja and other sites where the indigenous people previously had their villages. Tunja became one of the main political and economic centers for the Spanish during the Viceroyalty of New Granada.
During the 19th century, Boyacá was battleground for numerous confrontations between the royalist and patriot armies led by Simón Bolívar during the Spanish colonies' war of independence from Spain. Two of the most decisive battles were the Battle of Boyacá and the Vargas Swamp Battle won by the patriot forces against the royalists. In 1824 Gran Colombia created the Boyacá Department.
After the creation of the Granadine Confederation by 1858 the territory of now Boyaca became the Sovereign State of Boyacá. It was later rearranged in territory and administration and renamed as "Department of Boyaca" after a series of civil wars like the Colombian Civil War and the Thousand Days War that struggled over a centralist or federalist system and political instability that changed to many constitutions, Boyaca finally acquired its current definition as territory.

Geography

Boyacá is located in the Andean Region in central Colombia, over the Cordillera Oriental mountain range and covers a total area of 23,189 km². It borders other Colombian departments as follows: to the north Santander and Norte de Santander, to the east Arauca and Casanare, to the south Cundinamarca and a small part of Meta, and to the west Antioquia and Caldas. It has a territorial dispute with Norte de Santander and Cundinamarca.
The department of Boyacá covers a small portion of the Middle Magdalena valley of the Magdalena River to the west, the Cordillera Oriental mountain range with altitudes of 5,380 m above sea level, flat highland plateaux and another small portion of territory by the eastern Llanos plains. Among its most prominent geographical features are the Range of the Zorro, Serrania de las Quinchas and the Andean plateaus of Rusia, Guantivá, Pisba, Chontales and Rechiniga.
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense, shared with the department of Cundinamarca, is densely populated with numerous valleys. The southern part is the Bogotá savanna. Boyacá is subdivided into 123 municipalities.
Many rivers originate in Boyacá, the most important are the Chicamocha River and Arauca River and tributaries to other important rivers such as the Magdalena and Meta.
Boyacá also has numerous lakes which include Lake Tota, Lake Sochagota and Lake Fúquene, shared with the department of Cundinamarca, the artificial Chivor Reservoir and others.

National parks

and Pisba National Parks are located in the northeast of Boyacá. Pisba National Park is shared with the department of Arauca. The flora and fauna sanctuary of Lake Iguaque is situated in the centre of the department. The most beautiful páramo in the world, Ocetá Páramo, is in northeast Boyacá.

Climate

The central area of the highlands has two rainy seasons; the first between April and June, and a second between October and November with an average of of rainfall per year. The rest of the year is considered to be the dry seasons with intermittent rainfall.

Provinces and municipalities

There are 13 provinces and two special districts in the Boyacá Department, listed below with their 123 municipalities. The department also has 123 corregimientos, 185 police inspectorates and numerous towns and small villages spread throughout the territory.
Municipalities are also grouped into 45 notary circuits with 53 notaries public. One circuit main registry based in the capital of the department; Tunja and 13 other minor registries spread across the territory.

Central">Central Boyacá Province">Central

  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

    Northern">Northern Boyacá Province">Northern

  16. Boavita
  17. Covarachía
  18. La Uvita
  19. San Mateo
  20. Sativanorte
  21. Sativasur
  22. Soatá
  23. Susacón
  24. Tipacoque

    Western">Western Boyacá Province">Western

  25. Briceño
  26. Buenavista
  27. Caldas
  28. Chiquinquirá
  29. Coper
  30. La Victoria
  31. Maripí
  32. Muzo
  33. Otanche
  34. Pauna
  35. Quipama
  36. Saboyá
  37. San Miguel de Sema
  38. San Pablo de Borbur
  39. Tununguá

    Eastern">Eastern Boyacá Province">Eastern

  40. Almeida
  41. Chivor
  42. Guateque
  43. Guayatá
  44. La Capilla
  45. Somondoco
  46. Sutatenza
  47. Tenza

    Gutiérrez">Gutiérrez Province">Gutiérrez

  48. Chiscas
  49. El Cocuy
  50. El Espino
  51. Guacamayas
  52. Güicán
  53. Panqueba

    La Libertad">La Libertad Province">La Libertad

  54. Labranzagrande
  55. Pajarito
  56. Paya
  57. Pisba

    Lengupá">Lengupá Province">Lengupá

  58. Berbeo
  59. Campohermoso
  60. Miraflores
  61. Páez
  62. San Eduardo
  63. Zetaquirá

    Márquez">Márquez Province">Márquez

  64. Boyacá
  65. Ciénaga
  66. Jenesano
  67. Nuevo Colón
  68. Ramiriquí
  69. Rondón
  70. Tibaná
  71. Turmequé
  72. Úmbita
  73. Viracachá

    Neira">Neira Province">Neira

  74. Chinavita
  75. Garagoa
  76. Macanal
  77. Pachavita
  78. San Luis de Gaceno
  79. Santa María

    Ricaurte">Ricaurte Province">Ricaurte

  80. Arcabuco
  81. Chitaraque
  82. Gachantivá
  83. Moniquirá
  84. Ráquira
  85. Sáchica
  86. San José de Pare
  87. Santa Sofía
  88. Santana
  89. Sutamarchán
  90. Tinjacá
  91. Togüí
  92. Villa de Leyva

    Sugamuxi">Sugamuxi Province">Sugamuxi

  93. Aquitania
  94. Cuítiva
  95. Firavitoba
  96. Gámeza
  97. Iza
  98. Mongua
  99. Monguí
  100. Nobsa
  101. Pesca
  102. Sogamoso
  103. Tibasosa
  104. Tópaga
  105. Tota

    Tundama">Tundama Province">Tundama

  106. Belén
  107. Busbanzá
  108. Cerinza
  109. Corrales
  110. Duitama
  111. Floresta
  112. Paipa
  113. Santa Rosa de Viterbo
  114. Tutazá

    Valderrama">Valderrama Province">Valderrama

  115. Betéitiva
  116. Chita
  117. Jericó
  118. Paz de Río
  119. Socotá
  120. Socha
  121. Tasco

    Frontier District">Frontier District, Boyacá">Frontier District

  122. Cubará

    Special Handling Zone

  123. Puerto Boyacá