Boyacá

**Boyacá** is one of the 32 departments of Colombia. It is in the central northeastern part of the country, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end of the department extends to the Magdalena River. Its capital is Tunja.

Boyacá is known as "The Land of Freedom" because in this region there were several battles that resulted in the independence of Colombia from Spain.

## History

The territory of present-day Boyacá was inhabited, during the Pre-Columbian time, by _Muisca_ indigenous peoples. They lived mainly by agriculture and mining gold and emeralds.

The first European to discover the area was the Spaniard Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. In 1539, Gonzalo Suárez Rendón, a Spanish colonist, founded the city of Tunja and other places. Tunja became one of the main political and economic centers for the Spanish during the "Viceroyalty of New Granada".

During the 19th century Boyaca was battleground of several important battles during the war of Independence; two of the most important were the "Battle of the Pantano de Vargas" (Vargas Swamp Battle) on 25 July 1819, and the "Battle of Boyacá" on 7 August 1819.

## Geography

The Boyacá department is in the Andean region over the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera (the eastern section of the Andes in Colombia). It borders 8 departments: Santander and Norte de Santander to the north, Arauca and Casanare to the east, Cundinamarca and Meta to the south, and Caldas and Antioquia to the west. It also borders with Venezuela.

Boyacá has an area of , most of it on a plateau. Its highest point is ***Ritacuba Blanco*** () in the Eastern Cordillera; it is  high.

Many rivers start in this area; the most important are the Chicamocha and Arauca rivers, tributaries to other important rivers such as the Magdalena and Meta rivers.

Boyacá also has numerous lakes; the largest, and the largest in Colombia, is the Lake Tota with an area of .

### Climate

The area around Tunja, at an altitude of about , is characterized by climates with few extremes of temperature  and ample precipitation in all months. The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Tunja is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "**Cfb**".

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Tunja is . The month with the most precipitation on average is October with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is January with an average of . There is an average of 179.0 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in May with 19.0 days and the least precipitation occurring in January with 6.0 days.

The average temperature for the year in Tunja is . The warmest month, on average, is March with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is July, with an average temperature of .

<div style="width:80%;">

</div>

## Provinces and Municipalities

There are 13 provinces and two special districts in the Boyacá Department, listed below with their 123 municipalities. The provincial capitals are in **bold**.

<big>Centro</big>
1. Cómbita
1. Cucaita
1. Chíquiza
1. Chivatá
1. Motavita
1. Oicatá
1. Siachoque
1. Samacá
1. Sora
1. Soracá
1. Sotaquirá
1. Toca
1. **Tunja**
1. Tuta
1. Ventaquemada

<big>Gutiérrez</big>
1. Chiscas
1. **El Cocuy**
1. El Espino
1. Guacamayas
1. Güicán
1. Panqueba

<big>La Libertad</big>
1. **Labranzagrande**
1. Pajarito
1. Paya
1. Pisba

<big>Lengupá</big>
1. Berbeo
1. Campohermoso
1. **Miraflores**
1. Páez
1. San Eduardo
1. Zetaquirá

<big>Occidente</big>
1. Briceño
1. Buenavista
1. Caldas
1. **Chiquinquirá**
1. Coper
1. La Victoria
1. Maripí
1. Muzo
1. Otanche
1. Pauna
1. Quipama
1. Saboyá
1. San Miguel de Sema
1. San Pablo de Borbur
1. Tununguá

<big>Márquez</big>
1. Boyacá
1. Ciénaga
1. Jenesano
1. Nuevo Colón
1. **Ramiriquí**
1. Rondón
1. Tibaná
1. Turmequé
1. Úmbita
1. Viracachá

<big>Neira</big>
1. Chinavita
1. **Garagoa**
1. Macanal
1. Pachavita
1. San Luis de Gaceno
1. Santa María

<big>Norte</big>
1. Boavita
1. Covarachía
1. La Uvita
1. San Mateo
1. Sativanorte
1. Sativasur
1. **Soatá**
1. Susacón
1. Tipacoque

<big>Oriente</big>
1. Almeida
1. Chivor
1. **Guateque**
1. Guayatá
1. La Capilla
1. Somondoco
1. Sutatenza
1. Tenza

<big>Ricaurte</big>
1. Arcabuco
1. Chitaraque
1. Gachantivá
1. **Moniquirá**
1. Ráquira
1. Sáchica
1. San José de Pare
1. Santa Sofía
1. Santana
1. Sutamarchán
1. Tinjacá
1. Togüí
1. Villa de Leyva

<big>Sugamuxi</big>
1. Aquitania
1. Cuítiva
1. Firavitoba
1. Gámeza
1. Iza
1. Mongua
1. Monguí
1. Nobsa
1. Pesca
1. **Sogamoso**
1. Tibasosa
1. Tópaga
1. Tota

<big>Tundama</big>
1. Belén
1. Busbanzá
1. Cerinza
1. Corrales
1. **Duitama**
1. Floresta
1. Paipa
1. Santa Rosa de Viterbo
1. Tutasá, Boyacá

<big>Valderrama</big>
1. Betéitiva
1. Chita
1. Jericó
1. Paz de Río
1. Socotá
1. **Socha**
1. Tasco

<big>Distrito Fronterizo</big>
1. Cubará

<big>Special Handling Zone</big>
1. Puerto Boyacá

## Demographics

The inhabitants of the Boyacá department are known, in Spanish, as _Boyacense_.

Boyacá had a population, in 2005, of 1,255,311, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.

**Population history in Boyacá**

The 10 municipalities with more inhabitants in the Boyacá department are:

|City|Population <small>(2005)</small>|Province|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Tunja|154,096|Centro|
|Sogamoso|117,094|Sugamuxi|
|Duitama|107,406|Tundama|
|Chiquinquirá|55,786|Occidente|
|Puerto Boyacá|50,301|Special Handling Zone|
|Paipa|27,766|Tundama|
|Moniquirá|21,852|Ricaurte|
|Samacá|17,614|Centro|
|Garagoa|16,520|Neira|
|Villa de Leyva|12,032|Ricaurte|

## Economy

Farming is an important activity; some crops grown here are sugarcane, coffee and cacao. Cattle raising is also important.

Mining is also an important activity, mainly of emerald and coal.

## Places of interest

Some places of interest in the department are:
- **Monument to the Lancers** () a memorial for Vargas Swamp Battle.  It is the largest monument in Colombia.
- **Villa de Leyva** is a touristic colonial town and municipality. The town is at  west of the departmental capital Tunja.
- **Battleground of the Battle of Boyacá**, to the south of Tunja.
- **Puente de Boyacá** (in English: **The Bridge of Boyacá**) is a small bridge at  to the west of Tunja. It commemorates the historic battle of 7 August 1819 known as the Battle of Boyacá.
- **Lake Tota**, the largest lake of fresh water of the country.
- **Basílica of Our Lady of the Rosary** in Chiquinquirá. Our Lady of the Rosary is the patron saint of Colombia.

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Boyaca Department
- **other name**: _Departamento de Boyacá_
- **settlement type**: Department of Colombia
- **image skyline**: Sector Antiguo de la ciudad de Tunja.jpg
- **image caption**: Simón Bolívar Town square, square, Tunja
- **image flag**: Flag of Boyacá Department.svg
- **flag size**: 90px
- **image shield**: Escudo de Boyacá.svg
- **shield size**: 60px
- **image map**: Colombia - Boyacá.svg
- **map alt**: Location of Boyacá in Colombia
- **map caption**: Location of Boyacá, in red, in Colombia
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision type1**: Capital
- **subdivision name1**: Tunja
- **subdivision type2**: Municipalities
- **subdivision name2**: 123
- **leader title**: Governor
- **leader name**: Carlos Andrés Amaya Rodríguez
- **area total km2**: 23189
- **population as of**: 2005
- **population total**: 1255311
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Boyacense
- **timezone**: UTC
- **utc offset**: -5
- **postal code type**: Postal code
- **postal code**: 15
- **iso code**: CO-BOY
- **website**: [http://www.boyaca.gov.co/ Gobernación de Boyacá]