Bogotá

Bogotá, under Spanish rule SANTA FE DE BOGOTÁ, in South America, the federal capital of the Republic of Colombia. It is situated within the limits of the province of Cundinamarca, on a tableland which, at an elevation of 8694 feet above the sea, separates the basin of the Magdalena from that of the Orinoco. The tableland has an area of about 400 sq. m., and is bounded on all sides by mountains which, though lofty enough to give shelter, are yet below the line of perpetual snow. This extensive plain—a temperate zone on the verge of the equator, with a salubrious climate and an average temperature of 60° F.—is exceedingly fertile, being as rich in pasture as in grain. The greater number of its people, however, are sunk in poverty. This is largely due to the heavy cost and difficulty of transport, which hamper all industries. Bogotá is 65 miles from its port, Honda, the head of navigation on the Magdalena; and from this point, although a railway has been projected, at present goods must be conveyed over the mountains in packages of not more than 125 lb. The transport of heavy machinery is thus impossible. The few manufactures of the place include soap, leather, cloth, and articles made from the precious metals. Bogotá was founded in 1538, and in 1598 became the capital of the Spanish viceroyalty of New Granada; since 1554 it has been the seat of an archbishop. In 1800 it contained 21,464 inhabitants, and in 1821, 30,000; in 1884, 95,813; and now, by estimate, about 100,000. Prospectively, the surrounding mountains promise one day to give to industry many valuable minerals, such as iron, coal, and salt. The last two, in fact, have already been obtained to some extent. Mines of emeralds, gold, silver, and copper are also said to exist within the same district. The town is regularly and handsomely built, although most of the houses have but one story, and little glass, owing to the prevalence of earthquakes. The streets are at right angles, and paved and lit, but not over clean. Bogotá teems with churches, its cathedral being famous for a statue of the Virgin, which is covered with costly jewels; its convents were suppressed in 1861. It likewise possesses, in addition to the capitol, a palace for the national chambers, and other official buildings, a mint, a university with six faculties, a number of schools, a free library, observatory, two theatres, and museums; and, supporting about forty journals, the city has been proudly named by its inhabitants the 'Athens of South America.'—The river Bogotá, otherwise called the Funcha, is in itself an object of physical interest. It is the single outlet of the waters of the tableland, which, both from geological features and from aboriginal traditions, appears to have once been a land-locked basin, somewhat like the still loftier and larger plateau of Titicaca. Be this as it may, the river has found, if it has not forced, a passage for itself towards the Magdalena. At the cataract of Tequendama the waters plunge over a precipice 625 feet high, their force having hollowed out a well 130 feet deep in the rock below; and the clouds of spray clothe the adjacent ground in the most luxuriant vegetation. Some miles from the fall stands the natural bridge of Icononzo, formed as if by the fortuitous jamming of rocks from the opposite sides of the cleft; and the plateau also contains a lake, Guatavita, into which the natives are said to have thrown their treasures when conquered by the Spaniards.