The San Francisco River ( es, Río San Francisco) is a river that crosses the
Bogotá savanna
The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is situated in the Eastern Range ...
from east to west and is closely related to the
history of the city. This marked the northern limit of
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
in its years of colonial foundation. It originates in the
Páramo de Cruz Verde[''Historia de Bogotá — Siglo XX'', pág. 96.] and descends from the
Monserrate
Monserrate (named after Catalan homonym mountain ''Montserrat'') is a high mountain over 10,000 feet high that dominates the city center of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. It rises to above the sea level, where there is a church (built in ...
hill. Upon reaching the city, it is channeled. In
Avenida Jiménez
Avenida Jiménez is a thoroughfare that runs through the locality of La Candelaria in Bogotá, Colombia. Laid out on the San Francisco River, the Environmental Axis of the city is currently established there.
It extends over from Teleférico d ...
with Sixth street, it converges underground with the San Agustín River.
History
Originally, the San Francisco River was known by the indigenous peoples who inhabited the Bogotá savannah as the Vicachá River, which means "The glow of the night".
[Íbid.] It was the largest river in the region and during its first centuries, it supplied the entire city with water, serving its course as the southern limit of the parish of Las Nieves.
With the establishment of the Franciscan religious community in 1550 and the construction of the
Church of San Francisco on the north bank, the Vicachá River would adopt the name of San Francisco. During the 1930s the river was canalized and Avenida Jiménez was established in its place.
Between 1999 and 2001, the Environmental Axis was built, recovering a fragment of its original layout.
See also
*
List of rivers of Colombia
Atlantic Ocean
Amazon River Basin
* Amazon River
** Guainía River or Negro River
*** Vaupés River or Uaupés River
**** Papuri River
**** Querary River
*** Isana River or Içana River
**** Cuiari River
*** Aquio River
** Caquetá River o ...
References
{{coord missing, Colombia
Rivers of Colombia
Geography of Bogotá