Usme is the 5th locality of the Capital District 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 ...

, capital city of

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 ...

. Usme is located in the south of Bogotá, bordering to the north the localities of San Cristóbal, Rafael Uribe Uribe and Tunjuelito, to the west the locality of Ciudad Bolívar, to the south the locality of Sumapaz, and to the east, behind the Eastern Hills, the municipalities of Ubaque, Chipaque and Une in the

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, ...

of Cundinamarca.

History

Usme was inhabited first by indigenous groups during the

Herrera Period The Herrera Period is a phase in the history of Colombia. It is part of the Andean preceramic and ceramic, time equivalent of the North American pre-Columbian formative and classic stages and age dated by various archaeologists. The Herrera Per ...

and later by the Muisca. The modern locality of Usme was founded in 1650 as "''San Pedro de Usme''" which became a center for the rural areas nearby dedicated to agricultural activities. These supplied food to

. It was named after San Pedro (Saint Peter) and Usme from Muysccubun, meaning ''Nest of love''.Etymology Usme
– El Tiempo The daughter of '' zipa'' Saguamanchica was called Usminia. In 1911, it became a municipality of Cundinamarca with the name Usme and became known for its constant problems between landlords, tenants and peasant workers for the land. During the mid 20th century, an agrarian reform finally arranged the land. The area then shifted from an agricultural production to industrial materials production mainly for construction, giving way to numerous quarries. In 1972, Usme was assigned to Bogotá's district as one of its localities.

Geography

Usme has one of Bogotá's natural parks, called ''Entrenubes'' ("between the clouds") in the Eastern Hills, destined for ecotourism and to preserve the local wildlife.

Neighborhoods and villages

Usme has 126 neighborhoods and 17 ''veredas''. Of the neighborhoods, the most important are: Downtown Usme, Yomasa, El Uval, Monte Blanco, Santa Librada, Chiguaza, El Virrey, Chuniza, Puerta al Llano, Usminia, La Aurora, Marichuela, Sauces Miravalle, Santa Marta, Barranquillita, San Andres de los Altos, Costa Rica, Villa Isabel, Las Quintas, La Cabaña, Betania, Danubio Azul, La Fiscala, Chuniza, Lorenzo Alcantuz, Comuneros, La Requilina, Serranias, among others.

Transportation

Usme's main point of access is the

Avenida Caracas Avenida Caracas is an arterial road in Bogotá, Colombia that runs through the city from north to south. Names The road has four names along its stretch: ''Avenida Caracas'', ''Troncal Caracas'', ''Carrera 14'', and ''Carretera a Usme''. Rou ...

which is covered by the TransMilenio bus service terminating in the Portal de Usme Station (Line H). The Avenida Caracas then becomes a highway which connects Bogotá and Cundinamarca Department with the plains of the

Llanos Orientales The Llanos ( Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grassland ...

in the Meta Department towards its capital Villavicencio.

References

External links

*
Usme, locality with a history
{{Bogota DC Localities of Bogotá Altiplano Cundiboyacense Muisca Confederation Muysccubun