Bogotá (/ˈboʊɡəˌtɑː/, /ˌbɒɡəˈtɑː/, /ˌboʊɡəˈtɑː/; Spanish pronunciation: [boɣoˈta]), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C. (during the time of Spanish rule, and also from 1991 to 2000, called Santa Fé de Bogotá) is the capital and largest city of Colombia administered as the Capital District, although often thought of as part of Cundinamarca. Bogotá is a territorial entity of the first order, with the same administrative status as the departments of Colombia. It is the political, economic, administrative, industrial, artistic, cultural, and sports centre of the country.
The city is located in the centre of Colombia, on a high plateau known as the Bogotá savanna, part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes. It is the third-highest capital in South America (after Quito and Sucre), at an average of 2,640 metres (8,660 ft) above sea level. Subdivided into 20 localities, Bogotá has an area of 1,587 square kilometres (613 square miles) and a relatively fresh climate that is constant over the year.
Bogotá was founded as the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada on August 6, 1538, by Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada after a harsh expedition into the Andes conquering the Muisca. The Muisca were the indigenous inhabitants of the region and called the settlement where Bogotá was founded Bacatá. After the Battle of Boyacá on August 7, 1819, Bogotá became the capital of the independent nation of Gran Colombia. Since the Viceroyalty of New Granada's independence from the Spanish Empire and during the formation of the present Colombia, Bogotá remained the capital of this territory.
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