El Peñol is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. The population was 16,223 at the 2018 census. It is part of the subregion of

Eastern Antioquia Eastern Antioquia () is subregion of the Colombian Departments of Colombia, Department of Antioquia Department, Antioquia. The region consists of 23 Municipalities of Colombia, municipalities. Geography The region of Eastern Antioquia limits to t ...

. The town is nationally known for the nearby monolith known also as El Peñol, which is a tourist attraction.

History

The town was originally founded along the Negro-Nare River in 1714 by Fray Miguel de Castro y Rivadeneiro. The area was inhabited by the indigenous Tahamí people prior to the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

arrival and colonization of the area. In 1971, Empresas Públicas de Medellín determined that more water and power was needed to support the rapidly growing city of

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, located approximately 50mi/30km to the west, and decided that the Negro-Nare River should be dammed at Guatape, flooding the Negro-Nare River valley in which El Peñol was located. The old town seized by eminent domain and a new town was built several miles west, disrupting the lives of several thousand residents who were then forced to move to the new town without recourse. The new dam was completed and the valley flooded in 1978. The El Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir now sits over the former location of El Peñol. A cross now marks the location in the reservoir above the former

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of El Viejo Peñol that fronted the town plaza. Some rural parts of Guatape were also flooded and lost.

Climate

El Peñol has a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb'') consistently warm temperatures and abundant rainfall. ElViejoPeñolCross.png, The former location of El Peñol PiedradeElPeñol.jpg, El Peñol rock, next to Guatapé dam

References

Municipalities of Antioquia Department {{Antioquia-geo-stub