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The Colombian Geological Survey (CGS) (; formerly known as INGEOMINAS) is a scientific agency of the
Colombian government The Government of Colombia is a republic with separation of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches. Its legislature has a congress, its judiciary has a supreme court, and its executive branch has a president. The citiz ...
in charge of contributing to the socioeconomic development of the nation through research in basic and applied geosciences of the subsoil, the potential of its resources, evaluating and monitoring threats of geological origin, managing the geoscientific knowledge of the nation, and studying the nuclear and radioactive elements in Colombia.


History

The CGS was initially created as the ''National Scientific Commission'' () by the
Congress of Colombia The Congress of the Republic of Colombia () is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature. The Congress of Colombia consists of the 108-seat Senate, and the 188-seat Chamber of Representatives, Members of both houses are e ...
on December 22, in 1916, with the mission of mapping the geological resources of the nation and exploring the national territory in search of mineral deposits. Following a series of earthquakes throughout the nation in the early 1920s, the eruption of the
Galeras Galeras (Urcunina among the 16th-century indigenous people) is an Andean stratovolcano in the Colombian department of Nariño, near the departmental capital Pasto. Its summit rises above sea level. It has erupted frequently since the Spanish ...
volcano in 1925, and the growing mining and petroleum industry, the Colombian government decided to re-organize the National Scientific Commission in 1938 and place it under the supervision of the newly established Ministry of Mines and Energy as the ''National Geological Survey'' (). In 1944, the CGS published the first official geological map of Colombia, and established the ''José Royo y Gómez Geological Museum'' to showcase the different types of rocks, minerals, and fossils found throughout the first research expeditions carried out in the country. In 1968 the ''Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Geológico-Mineras'' (INGEOMINAS) was formed by combining the Geological Service, the Mining Inventory, and the National Chemical Laboratory. In 2004, the national government merged MINERCOL, a public for profit organization in charge of exploiting mineral resources in the country, to consolidate the ''Colombian Geological Survey'' into a scientific for research only government agency. In 2011 ''INGEOMINAS'' leaves all matters of mining to newly formed '' Agencia Nacional de Minería'' and attains the name ''Servicio Geológico Colombiano'' (SGC).


Volcanic and seismic monitoring sites

The Colombian Geological Survey operates a network of volcanic and seismic observatories throughout the Colombia which are located in
Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Caldas Department, Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an importa ...
,
Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in the Pubenza Valley in southwestern Colombia between the Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range. The municipality has a population of 318,059, an a ...
, and
Pasto Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto (; "Saint John of Pasto"), is the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Pasto was founded in 1537 and named after indigenous people of the area. In the 2018 census, the municipality ...
.


Volcanic and Seismic Observatory of Manizales

The volcanic and seismic observatory in Manizales was established in 1985, post the
Armero tragedy The Armero tragedy ( ) occurred following the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz stratovolcano in Tolima Department, Tolima, Colombia, on November 13, 1985. The volcano's eruption after 69 years of dormancy caught nearby towns unprepared, even thou ...
, to monitor the
Nevado del Ruiz Nevado del Ruiz (), also known as La Mesa de Herveo () is a volcano on the border of the departments of Caldas and Tolima in Colombia, being the highest point of both. It is located about west of the capital city Bogotá. It is a stratovolca ...
volcano.


Volcanic and Seismic Observatory of Popayán

The volcanic and seismic observatory in Popayán was established in 1990 to monitor the
Nevado del Huila Nevado del Huila (, ) at , is the highest volcano in Colombia, located at the tripoint of the departments of Huila, Tolima and Cauca. It is visible from the city of Cali. The andesitic volcano is located on top of the Ibagué Batholith.Planc ...
volcano complex. Today, the observatory also constantly monitors the Puracé and Sotará volcanoes.


Volcanic and Seismic Observatory of Pasto

The volcanic and seismic observatory in Pasto was established to monitor the
Galeras Galeras (Urcunina among the 16th-century indigenous people) is an Andean stratovolcano in the Colombian department of Nariño, near the departmental capital Pasto. Its summit rises above sea level. It has erupted frequently since the Spanish ...
volcano following its reactivation in 1989. Today, the observatory also monitors the Chiles and the Cerro Negro de Mayasquer volcanoes on the international border between Colombia and
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, and the
Azufral Azufral is a stratovolcano located in the department of Nariño in southern Colombia, west of the town of Túquerres. It is the only volcano of the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes. Its name derives from the Spanish word for sulfur, '' ...
, Cumbal, and Doña Juana volcanoes in the Department of Nariño.


José Royo y Gómez Geological Museum

The ''Colombian Geological Survey'' runs a network of museums located in
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 ...
,
Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...
, and
Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
which are named after José Royo y Gómez, a
Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...
geologist who was forced into exile in Colombia during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. His contribution to the study of geology in Colombia can be traced back all the way to the days of the foundation of the geological survey as he was called to take part of the newly created ''Servicio Geológico Nacional de Colombia'' just nine days after his arrival to the country. Throughout José Royo y Gómez' time at the SGNC, he directed various commissions where he continued his investigations and promoting the study of natural sciences in Colombia.


References

{{authority control Government agencies of Colombia Research institutes in Colombia Geology of Colombia National geological agencies Geological surveys Earth science research institutes Government agencies established in 1916