Department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
Ricaurte Province
The Ricaurte Province is a province of the Colombian Department of Boyacá. The province, named after independence hero Antonio Ricaurte, is formed by 13 municipalities.
Municipalities
* Arcabuco
* Chitaraque
* Gachantivá
* Moniquirá
* Ráq ...
,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. The urban centre of Santa Sofía is located at an altitude of on the
Altiplano Cundiboyacense
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Alti ...
, with the highest elevated parts of the municipality, that have a
páramo
Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...
ecosystem, reaching . Santa Sofía borders
Moniquirá
Moniquirá is a town and Municipalities of Colombia, municipality in Boyacá Department, Colombia, part of the subregion of the Ricaurte Province. It is known for its "bocadillos" and "panelitas de leche" (both little sweet cakes). Moniquirá borde ...
Villa de Leyva
Villa de Leyva, also called Villa de Leiva, is a touristic colonial town and municipality, in the Ricaurte Province, part of the Boyacá Department of Colombia. The town is a Colombian National Heritage Town and is on the tentative list for UNES ...
in the southeast,
Sutamarchán
Sutamarchán is a town and municipality in the Ricaurte Province, part of the department of Boyacá of Colombia. Sutamarchán is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at from the department capital Tunja. It borders Santa Sofía in the nort ...
in the south,
Saboyá
Saboyá is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá.
Etymology
Saboyá in Chibcha means "Taste for the mantles".Puente Nacional,
Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
Originally, Santa Sofía was called Guatoque, a name derived from Muysccubun, meaning "creek of the mountain". The name was changed in 1906 to Santa Sofía, because mail that was meant to go to
Guateque
Guateque is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Eastern Boyacá Province. Guateque's urban center is located at an altitude of on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at distances of from the ...
, in southern Boyacá, was accidentally delivered in Guatoque. The name Santa Sofía was given to the town honouring Sofía Ángulo de Reyes, spouse of the then
president of Colombia
The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...
Rafael Reyes
Rafael Reyes Prieto (December 5, 1849 – February 18, 1921) was a Colombian politician and soldier who was the Chief of Staff of the Colombian National Army and President of Colombia (1904–1909).Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posa ...
.
History
The area of Santa Sofía before the
Spanish conquest
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...
was inhabited by the
Muisca
The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...
, who used the area to cross the lands towards the northern parts of their
Muisca Confederation
The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', '' iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andean highlands of present-day Colombia before the Spanish conquest of northern South America. The ...
.
It was in nearby Sorocotá that De Quesada and his men first discovered the potato in 1537 together with maize and beans alongside many aspects of local culture and customs as described in the ''History of the conquest of the New kingdom of Granada'' by
.
Within the boundaries of the municipalities is located the ''Hoyo de la Romera'', a
sinkhole
A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
where unfaithful Muisca women were punished.
Santa Sofía, then as Guatoque, was founded by Spanish colonists ordered by Amar y Borbón on January 10, 1810, just before the independence of Colombia from the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
was called.
Economy
Main economical activities of Santa Sofía are livestock farming and agriculture, especially
curuba
Banana passionfruit (''Passiflora'' supersect. ''Tacsonia''), also known as taxo and curuba, is a group of around 64 ''Passiflora'' species found in South America. Most species in this section are found in high elevation cloud forest habitats. Flo ...
,
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es and
strawberries
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...
. Other products cultivated are
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es,
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
,
pea
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
s,
bean
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
s,
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
and
yuca
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated a ...
.
Tourism
Santa Sofía is a rural community that gives access to the Guatoque Páramo and the Paso del Ángel, an ancient indigenous road. There are various caves and waterfalls located around Santa Sofía.
Gallery
File:Santa Sofia Boyaca.JPG, Central square
File:Santa Sofia Boyaca 03.JPG, Central square
File:Santa Sofia Boyaca Alcaldia.JPG, Town council building
File:Santa Sofia invernaderos.JPG, Greenhouses
File:Quebrada de Guatoque.JPG, Guatoque creek
File:Rio Moniquira.JPG, Moniquirá River
File:Paso del Angel.JPG, Paso del Ángel
File:Desde el Paso del Angel.JPG, Ancient road, Paso del Ángel
File:Hoyo de la Romera.JPG, ''Hoyo de la Romera''