Bogotá

Capital District
Flag Seal
Coordinates: 4°35′53″N 74°4′33″W
Country	Colombia
Department	Distrito Capital
Foundation	6 August 1538 (traditional)
Founded by	Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Government
• Mayor	Claudia López
Area
• Capital District	1,587 km2 (613 sq mi)
• Urban	307.36 km2 (118.67 sq mi)
• Rank	32nd
Elevation	2,625 m (8,612 ft)
Population  (2013)
• Capital District	7,674,366
• Rank	1st
• Density	4,835.8/km2 (12,525/sq mi)
• Metro	10,763,453
Time zone	UTC-5
Postal code	110010000
License plate	BOG
Website	City Official Site Bogotá Tourism

Bogota is the capital city of Colombia. As of 2009, more than 7 million people live in Bogota, which makes it the largest city in Colombia. It is about 2,640 metres (8,660 feet) above sea level, on a plateau. This makes it the third highest capital in the world. With many universities and libraries, Bogotá has become known as "The Athens of South America". The weather is usually fairly warm during the day and cool at night. It has a series of bike paths (trails that are made for bikes) that wind through the city. It has many recreational and amusement parks open to the public. The current mayor is Carlos Fernando Galán.

History

Originally, the Indigenous Muisca people lived in the area. Then, in 1538, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, a Spanish conquistador, founded Bogota. It then became a center of trade, art, and education. Some of the oldest universities in the Americas are in Bogota. After Independence from Spain, Bogota became the capital of Gran Colombia in 1819.

In 1948, a presidential candidate, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, was murdered while doing a speech in front of hundreds of people. One of the most remembered events after his killing is the Bogotazo. The Bogotazo started as a political party war; the Colombian Conservative Party began to hunt and kill every single member of the Colombian Liberal Party. The remaining Conservative party members decided to create the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC); however, this group was created to protect the oppressed people from their oppressors. Nowadays, this group is known for being terrorists and murderers; nevertheless, Colombia's capital city, Bogota, has not been attacked in the last few years.

Bogotá Media

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  The Bogotá savanna is the high plateau in the Andes where Bogotá is located. The flatlands are clearly visible in the topography and the result of a Pleistocene lake; Lake Humboldt, that existed until around 30,000 years BP

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  Small ceramic pots filled with food accompanied the mummies in their journey to the afterlife

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  Bolívar Square and the cathedral

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  The Plateresque Colonial Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé, built between 1604 and 1622

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  Santa Clara Church Museum built between 1629 and 1647. It has a large collection of colonial Colombian paintings.

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  Former colonial Plaza de San Victorino, in Bogotá, painted in 1824 by François Désiré Roulin.

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  Royal Street (in 1869), today known as Seventh Avenue (Carrera Séptima)

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  Bogotá La Sabana railway station

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  Tram on fire in front of the National Capitol where the IX Pan-American Conference was held in the Elliptical Hall of the National Capitol, during the revolt known as Bogotazo.

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  Bogotá is the second largest city within city limits in South America by population, after São Paulo.