The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca department of

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 ...

. A right tributary of the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River (, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, ...

, the Bogotá River crosses the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the western limits of

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

. The large population and major industrial base in its watershed have resulted in extremely severe pollution problems for the river.

Etymology

The Bogotá River is named after Muyquytá, which is derived from

Chibcha The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonizati ...

and means "(Enclosure) outside of the farm fields".Etymology Bacatá
– Banco de la República In historical texts, and also nowadays in its upstream, the Bogotá River is also called

Funza Funza () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Western Savanna Province, of the Departments of Colombia, department of Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca. Funza is situated on the Bogotá savanna, the southwestern part of the Altiplano C ...

River.A orillas del Río
– El Tiempo

Course

Main tributaries of the Bogotá River are the Teusacá, Torca, Juan Amarillo, Fucha, Tunjuelo, Soacha (left) and Neusa, Río Frío, Bojacá and Subachoque Rivers (right). The headwaters of the Bogotá River are in the municipality of Villapinzón, in the northeastern part of Cundinamarca near the limits with Boyacá. It has a course of about as it crosses the

Bogotá savanna The Bogotá savanna is a savanna#Savanna ecoregions, 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 si ...

, passing through Zipaquirá and eleven small municipalities, before reaching the city of Bogotá. As it runs along the western border of the city, the river forms the outlet for the heavily polluted Salitre, Fucha and Tunjuelito Rivers. After passing through the municipality of Soacha, the Bogotá River plunges off the savanna at the Tequendama Falls. It then follows a steep course, falling about in , to join the

at Girardot.

Temperature

The temperature average ranges from .

Gallery

File:Páramo de Guacheneque.jpg, Birth of Funza or Bogotá River in Guacheneque Páramo ( Villapinzón) File:Bogota River Zipaquira.JPG, Bogotá River close to Zipaquirá File:Río Bogotá a su paso por Engativá.JPG, Bogotá River in

Engativá Engativá is the 10th locality of Bogotá. It is located in the west of the city. This district is mostly inhabited by lower middle and working class residents. Etymology Engativá is either derived from ''Ingativá''; ''cacique'' Inga; "Land ...

File:Río Bogotá Tequendama.JPG, Bogotá River close to Tequendama File:Salto del Tequendama, Colombia.jpg, Tequendama Falls in the Bogotá River

References

External links

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Sistema Hídrico, Bogotá
*
Hidrografía Río Bogotá
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogota River Rivers of Colombia Geography of Bogotá Geography of Cundinamarca Department

Rivers A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...