Popayan

Popayan, capital of the department of Cauca in Colombia, stands in a fertile plain, 5700 feet above sea-level, near the river Cauca. It is a bishop's see, although its cathedral is now in ruins; and it has a university and normal school, and manufactures woollens. Founded in 1537, it rose to considerable importance; but the civil wars and an earthquake in 1827 have done much to reduce it. It is still of some consequence for the trade with Peru. Pop. 9000.