Mosquera is a municipality 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 ...

in the Western Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. Mosquera is close to the capital

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 ...

and is part of its

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

. The urban centre of Mosquera is situated at an altitude of on the Bogotá savanna. The municipality borders the localities

Bosa Bosa is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano (until May 2005 it was in the province of Nuoro), part of the Sardinia region of Italy. Bosa is situated about two-thirds of the way up the west coast of Sardinia, on a small hill, abo ...

and

Fontibón Fontibon is the 9th locality of Bogotá. It is located in the west of the city. This district is mostly inhabited by low and middle class residents. Etymology The origin of the city's name can be traced to the Muisca ''cacique Huintiva'' or '' ...

of Bogotá in the east, Soacha in the south,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and Funza in the north and

Bojacá Bojacá is a municipality and town of the Western Savanna Province, Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is situated at an altitude of on the Bogotá savanna at from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Zipacón ...

in the west.Official website Mosquera

Etymology

Mosquera is named after its founder, former president of Colombia Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, who in 1861 separated Mosquera from Funza.

History

Mosquera is close to Lake Herrera, a remnant lake of the large

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

Lake Humboldt Lake Humboldt or Humboldt Lake is an endorheic basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as riv ...

that existed on the Bogotá savanna until approximately 30,000 years BP. The archaeological findings around Lake Herrera date to the preceramic period, predating the Herrera Period, named after the lake. The Muisca established their civilisation typically as of 800 AD. They were an advanced culture and performed

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

on the high plains of the savanna. In the Muisca times

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...

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 Uni ...

es, arracacha,

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, ...

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato ('' Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young ...

es, yuca, peppers,

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, beans and pumpkins were cultivated in Mosquera. The Muisca were predominantly farmers and traders and their

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

was based on the extraction of

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

from the northern parts of the Bogotá savanna. Fruits and other agricultural products growing in different climates were traded on the frequent markets of the Muisca. In Mosquera

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

es, guanabanas, ice-cream beans,

pitahaya A pitaya () or pitahaya () is the fruit of several different cactus species indigenous to the Americas. Pitaya usually refers to fruit of the genus ''Stenocereus'', while pitahaya or dragon fruit refers to fruit of the genus ''Selenicereus'' ...

s and guayabas were the fruits traded with warmer climates.

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

also came from more tropical regions while

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

was traded with the colder climate

Lache The Lache ( ; sometimes simply Lache) is a housing estate in the city of Chester, in Cheshire, United Kingdom, with a population of around 10,000. It is located approximately southwest of the ancient city, with good local transport links en r ...

. Funza, of which Mosquera formed the southern part until 1861, was founded by

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who arrived in the region on April 20, 1537. Presently, Mosquera is a satellite town of the capital Bogotá and has grown significantly in recent years. In 2022, an unusual type of

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

foam covered the town. Residents reported that it produced an awful smell and that it had covered large parts of the municipality. While many locals were forced to get

inhalers An inhaler (also known as a puffer, pump or allergy spray) is a medical device used for delivering medicines into the lungs through the work of a person's breathing. This allows medicines to be delivered to and absorbed in the lungs, which prov ...

no effects on public health were recorded.

Born in Mosquera

* Olimpo López (1918–2015), pastry chef and creator of the Chocoramo ( Productos Ramo)

Gallery

File:Iglesia mosquera 14-04-12.jpg, Church of Mosquera File:Iglesia mosquera 2012.jpg, Church File:Mosquera y Bolivar.jpg, Bustes of Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera and Simón Bolívar File:Estacion tren Mosquera.jpg, Train station File:Casa-cultural.jpg, Cultural centre

References

{{Coord, 04, 42, 28, N, 74, 13, 58, W, display=title Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department Populated places established in 1861 Muisca Confederation