1.
Colombia
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Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a transcontinental country largely situated in the northwest of South America, with territories in Central America. Colombia shares a border to the northwest with Panama, to the east with Venezuela and Brazil and to the south with Ecuador and it shares its maritime limits with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is a unitary, constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments, the territory of what is now Colombia was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples including the Muisca, the Quimbaya and the Tairona. The Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of conquest and colonization ultimately creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada, independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 the Gran Colombia Federation was dissolved. What is now Colombia and Panama emerged as the Republic of New Granada, the new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation, and then the United States of Colombia, before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Since the 1960s the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict, Colombia is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world, and thereby possesses a rich cultural heritage. Cultural diversity has also influenced by Colombias varied geography. The urban centres are located in the highlands of the Andes mountains. Colombian territory also encompasses Amazon rainforest, tropical grassland and both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, ecologically, it is one of the worlds 17 megadiverse countries, and the most densely biodiverse of these per square kilometer. Colombia is a power and a regional actor with the fourth-largest economy in Latin America, is part of the CIVETS group of six leading emerging markets and is an accessing member to the OECD. Colombia has an economy with macroeconomic stability and favorable growth prospects in the long run. The name Colombia is derived from the last name of Christopher Columbus and it was conceived by the Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to all the New World, but especially to those portions under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name was adopted by the Republic of Colombia of 1819. When Venezuela, Ecuador and Cundinamarca came to exist as independent states, New Granada officially changed its name in 1858 to the Granadine Confederation. In 1863 the name was changed, this time to United States of Colombia. To refer to country, the Colombian government uses the terms Colombia. Owing to its location, the present territory of Colombia was a corridor of early human migration from Mesoamerica, the oldest archaeological finds are from the Pubenza and El Totumo sites in the Magdalena Valley 100 km southwest of Bogotá. These sites date from the Paleoindian period, at Puerto Hormiga and other sites, traces from the Archaic Period have been found
2.
Rail transport
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Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks. It is also referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a flat surface. Tracks usually consist of rails, installed on ties and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels. Other variations are possible, such as slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than road vehicles, so passenger. The operation is carried out by a company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilities. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electric power from a railway system or produce their own power. Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system, Railways are a safe land transport system when compared to other forms of transport. The oldest, man-hauled railways date back to the 6th century BC, with Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Rail transport blossomed after the British development of the steam locomotive as a viable source of power in the 19th centuries. With steam engines, one could construct mainline railways, which were a key component of the Industrial Revolution, also, railways reduced the costs of shipping, and allowed for fewer lost goods, compared with water transport, which faced occasional sinking of ships. The change from canals to railways allowed for markets in which prices varied very little from city to city. In the 1880s, electrified trains were introduced, and also the first tramways, starting during the 1940s, the non-electrified railways in most countries had their steam locomotives replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, with the process being almost complete by 2000. During the 1960s, electrified high-speed railway systems were introduced in Japan, other forms of guided ground transport outside the traditional railway definitions, such as monorail or maglev, have been tried but have seen limited use. The history of the growth, decline and restoration to use of transport can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of motive power used. The earliest evidence of a railway was a 6-kilometre Diolkos wagonway, trucks pushed by slaves ran in grooves in limestone, which provided the track element. The Diolkos operated for over 600 years, Railways began reappearing in Europe after the Dark Ages. The earliest known record of a railway in Europe from this period is a window in the Minster of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany
3.
Standard gauge
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The standard gauge is a widely used railway track gauge. Approximately 55% of the lines in the world are this gauge, all high-speed rail lines, except those in Russia, Uzbekistan, and Finland, are standard gauge. The distance between the edges of the rails is defined to be 1435 mm except in the United States. It is also called the UIC gauge or UIC track gauge, as railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge to be used. The result was the adoption throughout a large part of the world of a gauge of 1435 mm. In North East England, some lines in colliery areas were 4 ft 8 in. All these lines had been widened to standard gauge by 1846, parts of the United States, mainly in the Northeast, adopted the same gauge, because some early trains were purchased from Britain. However, until well into the half of the 19th century, Britain. The American gauges converged as the advantages of equipment interchange became increasingly apparent, notably, all the 5 ft broad gauge track in the South was converted to standard gauge over the course of two days beginning on 31 May 1886. See Track gauge in the United States, snopes categorized this legend as false, but commented that. It is perhaps more fairly labelled as True, but for trivial, the historical tendency to place the wheels of horse-drawn vehicles approximately 5 feet apart probably derives from the width needed to fit a carthorse in between the shafts. Others were 4 ft 4 in or 4 ft 7 1⁄2 in, the English railway pioneer George Stephenson spent much of his early engineering career working for the coal mines of County Durham. He favoured 4 ft 8 in for wagonways in Northumberland and Durham, the Hetton and Springwell wagonways also used this gauge. Stephensons Stockton and Darlington railway was primarily to transport coal from mines near Shildon to the port at Stockton-on-Tees. The initial gauge of 4 ft 8 in was set to accommodate the existing gauge of hundreds of horse-drawn chaldron wagons that were already in use on the wagonways in the mines. The railway used this gauge for 15 years before a change was made to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in gauge, George Stephenson used the 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in gauge for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, authorised in 1826 and opened 30 September 1830. The success of this led to Stephenson and his son Robert being employed to engineer several other larger railway projects. Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, authorised 1824 and opened 1825, used 4 ft 6 in, Dundee and Newtyle Railway, authorised 1829 and opened 1831, used 4 ft 6 1⁄2 in
4.
Narrow-gauge railway
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A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than the 1,435 mm of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm, narrow-gauge railways also have specialized use in mines and other environments where a very small structure gauge makes a very small loading gauge necessary. Narrow-gauge railways also have general applications. Many narrow-gauge street tramways are used, particularly in Europe, where 1,000 mm metre gauge tramways are common, the earliest recorded railway is shown in the De re metallica of 1556, which shows a mine in Bohemia with a railway of about 2 ft gauge. During the 16th century, railways were mainly restricted to hand-pushed narrow-gauge lines in mines throughout Europe, during the 17th century, mine railways were extended to provide transportation above ground. These lines were industrial, connecting mines with nearby transportation points and these railways were usually built to the same narrow gauge as the mine railways from which they developed. The worlds first steam locomotive on rails, built in 1802 by Richard Trevithick for the Coalbrookdale Company, during the 1820s and 1830s, a number of industrial narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom used steam locomotives. In 1842, the first narrow-gauge steam locomotive outside the UK was built for the 1,100 mm gauge Antwerp-Ghent Railway in Belgium, historically, many narrow-gauge railways were built as part of specific industrial enterprises and were primarily industrial railways rather than general carriers. Some common uses for these industrial narrow-gauge railways were mining, logging, construction, tunnelling, quarrying, extensive narrow-gauge networks were constructed in many parts of the world for these purposes. For example, mountain logging operations in the 19th century often used narrow-gauge railways to transport logs from mill sites to market, significant sugarcane railways still operate in Cuba, Fiji, Java, the Philippines, and Queensland. Narrow-gauge railway equipment remains in use for the construction of tunnels. Extensive narrow-gauge railway systems served the front-line trenches of both sides in World War I and they were a short-lived military application, and after the end of the war, the surplus equipment from these created a small boom in narrow gauge railway building in Europe. Narrow-gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. It is also used in populated areas where the potential demand is too low for broader gauge railways to be economically viable. This is the case in some of Australia and most of Southern Africa, the use of such railways has almost vanished due to the capabilities of modern trucks. In many countries, narrow gauge railways were built as feeder or branch lines to feed traffic to more important standard gauge lines, the choice was often not between a narrow-gauge railway and a standard gauge one, but between a narrow-gauge railway and none at all. Some bulk commodities, such as coal, ore, and gravel, can be transshipped, but this still incurs time penalties
5.
Rail transport in Colombia
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The Colombia railway network has a total length of 3,304 kilometres. The state-owned railway company was liquidated in the 1990s, since then the only passenger trains are tourist trains on the Bogotá savanna railway between Bogotá and Zipaquirá. In addition a funicular operates up the mountain of Monserrate in Bogotá, since 1991 the section La Loma – Puerto Drummond, with 192 kilometres, transports coal. Also from July 2003, the section Bogotá - Belencito, with 257 kilometres, is operating on the Atlantic concession transporting cement, in the Pacific concession the section between La Paila and Buenaventura has a total of 292 kilometres. In November 2009, the Colombian government set up a new team of consultants and specialists to oversee the estimated $440m Sistema Ferroviario Central railway concession. The project involves building a 1,050 kilometres railway from La Dorada to Chiriguaná, the tender was suspended due to concerns of corruption, but restarted in February 2011. There is a US$600 million investment programme planned for 2008 and studies for a US$350 million new line between Puerto Berrío and Saboya, under this contract sections of the Atlantic network Neiva – Villavieja and 177 km Ibagué – La Dorada would be built. Other sections to be built include Sogamoso – Tunja and Puerto Berrío – Cisneros, China is looking into constructing a 220 kilometres railway between the port cities Buenaventura and Cartagena, connecting Colombias Pacific and Caribbean coasts. This railway alternative would compete with the Panama Canal, besides linking two coasts, China aims to make the import of Colombian coal and the export of Chinese manufactured goods to the Americas easier with this railway. Colombia hopes Chinas growing economic presence in the region will further the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, the countrys biggest trading partner. A £47m agreement between the Colombian Ministry of Transport and UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on February 3,2014 plans to allow for the rehabilitation of two narrow gauge railway lines, the construction will use local contractors and is expected to take 18 to 24 months. The lines will be for traffic and the government is funding the construction. Medellín is the city thus far to have built a metro system. Consultants were appointed in 2014 to develop a system in the capital city Bogotá. Venezuela – - currently inoperative, proposed to be restored Brazil – no Ecuador – no Peru – no Panama – no Antioquia Railway Transport in Colombia Arias de Greiff, Gustavo, Dewhurst, Peter K. La Segunda Mula de Hierro, Historia de los Ferrocarriles Colombianos a través de sus locomotora / The Second Iron Mule, narrow Gauge in Colombia, Railways and Steam Locomotives. Media related to Rail transport in Colombia at Wikimedia Commons UNHCR Map
6.
Tren Turistico de la Sabana
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The Tren Turistico de la Sabana or Turistren runs heritage trains in Bogota, Colombia. The company runs steam trains from Bogota to Parque and Zipaquira, the idea of tourist trains with steam locomotives in Bogota was born 1982. When the National Railways in Colombia stopped running trains in 1990, people with knowledge of the railway, started to renovate a steam locomotive and carriages for a tourist railway. In 1992, the private company Turistren Ltda was founded by four friends, in 1993, railway tours started with steam locomotives under the name Tren Turistico de la Sabana. The 3 foot-gauge line runs up the reservation of Carrera 9. The idea has been discussed of upgrading the line to provide commuter services, bogotá Savannah Railway Rail transport in Colombia Turistren Turistren
7.
Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca
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Buenaventura is a coastal seaport city on the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Buenaventura is the port of Colombia in the Pacific Ocean. It is served by the Gerardo Tobar López Airport, the city was founded on July 14,1540, by Juan de Ladrilleros through orders from Pascual de Andagoya. At that time it was inhabited by the Buscajas, the city was destroyed by Native Americans before 1600, it was later rebuilt. Buenaventura thrived after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, today the city is crucial for sending raw materials to nearby areas, this has brought prosperity and allowed recent new development to occur. The city is, as of 2011, affected by high levels of poverty and violence. Buenaventuras population is mostly of African descent with 10% mixed European/Native Indian, the city is one of the major ports on the continent, accounting for nearly 60% of all Colombian sea imports and exports. However, due to its position, the citys economy has been hampered by gang-related activity fighting over control of the port. Buenaventura has had a notorious history plagued by the Colombian armed conflict, drug trafficking, violence, Colombian authorities have seized almost US$28 million in cash from drug kingpins. The money found was in shipping containers sent from Manzanillo, Colima and Houston. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of reported homicides in the city doubled, in 2010, the murder rate of Buenaventura was 175.2 homicides per 100,000, a rate 24 times that of New York City. To counter the violence, the Colombian government has set up a special forces unit in the worst area of the city. In 2011, it seemed that counter-violence efforts had improved crime metrics, according to community activist Victor Hugo Vidal, If you ask the authorities, they will tell you is better -- that the homicide rates are way down. But for us, during the last 10 years, there has no change. In all its branches have in more than 30,000 students of which almost 25,000 are undergraduates and 5,000 postgraduates. The headquarters of the Universidad del Valle in the city of Buenaventura, are on the Avenida Simon Bolivar km 9 Contiguo ITI College, Universidad del Pacífico- in the city of Buenaventura, it is a University Public Institution of Higher Education. Currently has five academic programs, Systems Engineering, Architecture, Sociology, Humid Tropics Agriculture, Aquaculture Technology, the administrative office is located at Avenida Simon Bolivar # 54A-10 in Buenaventura. It also has offices in Guapi and Tumaco, Buenaventura is one of the rainiest cities in the world with 6000–7000 mm of precipitation annually
8.
Santa Marta
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Santa Marta, officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta, is a city in Colombia. It is the capital of the department of Magdalena and fourth largest urban city of the Caribbean Region of Colombia, after Barranquilla, Cartagena and this city is situated on a bay of the same name and as such, is a prime tourist destination. Before the arrival of Europeans, the South American continent was inhabited by a number of indigenous groups, the Tairona formed mid- to large-size population centers, consisting of stone pathways, terraces, protected waterways, and spaces dedicated to agricultural produce. Their economy was agricultural, cultivating corn, pineapple, yucca. The Tayrona are considered advanced for their time period. Surviving archaeological sites consisted of formed terraces and small scale underground stone channels and they also were known to actively collect and process salt, which was a significant trading commodity. We know that they traded with indigenous groups along the coast. Archaeological excavations have recovered significant works in pottery, stonework and gold, Santa Marta’s flag consists of two colours, white and blue. White symbolises peace, in all are united without restriction. Blue symbolises the sky, the sea, the found in the horizon. Santa Marta is located on Santa Marta Bay of the Caribbean Sea in the province of Magdalena and it is 992 km from Bogotá and 93 km from Barranquilla. It is bordered to the north and west by the Caribbean and to the south by the municipalities of Aracataca, Santa Martas economy is based on tourism, trade, port activities, fishing and agriculture, in that order. The main agricultural products are, bananas, coffee, cocoa, Santa Marta is a major port. Simon Bolivar International Airport is 16 km from the city centre and it should be noted that historic figure Simon Bolivar died here, a significant event for South America as a whole. His villa known as La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino is located just outside the city centre, as the main city centre is located close to the coast, the city itself has had difficulty controlling expansion. Although, technically a separate locality, Rodadero is often considered part of Santa Marta itself, Santa Marta has one sister city, Miami Beach, Florida. Barranquilla Cartagena de Indias Taganga Santa Marta at analitica
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Envigado
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Envigado is a town southeast of Medellin, Colombia which belongs to the department of Antioquia. It is located in the region of the Aburrá Valley and is a part of The Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. It has limits at its north with El Poblado, Medellín, at its south with Sabaneta, at its east with El Retiro and Caldas, in 2015, Colombias Department of National Planning released a document, which placed Envigado among the top-three best places to live in Colombia. Envigado is also the hometown of the Colombian philosopher Fernando González and his house, Otraparte, today is a cultural center and museum dedicated to his memory and works. Envigado is also famous for keeping the traditions and architecture, one of the best standards of living in Colombia and for its promising football team. The population in the 1993 census was 115,484 inhabitants, in 2013, Envigado was estimated to have a total population of 212,235 according to a projection from a 2005 DANE census. Envigado was founded in 1775 and was declared a municipality in 1814, some researchers suggest that its name comes from the large trees that were once found there and which were used for the rafters in constructing houses. Spaniards in search of gold arrived in the Aburrá Valley for the first time in August of the year 1541 and they left only a month after to continue their quest for gold, but returned 90 years later, at the beginning of the 17th century, to stay. The rural Envigado was inhabited by wealthy Spanish families, which lived in prosperous residences that produced nourishment for Antioquia for about 150 years. The urban Envigado only appeared after 1775 with the creation of the Santa Gertrudis Parish, Envigado boasts a great and modern industry, with manufacturing as its main economic activity. Envigado is home to a team called Envigado Fútbol Club which plays in the Colombian first division. Inder Envigado is Envigados Institute of Sports, Recreation, and Good Use of Free Time and its purpose is offering the community sporting and recreational activities in an effort to strengthen Envigados human development. One of Inders main projects is Envigados cycleway, which is an activity that takes place Sundays from 7 a. m. to 1 p. m. During that time, Inder restricts the passage of vehicles on one Envigados main streets, La Avenida del Poblado, Inder also offers several activities on the cycleway, such as outdoor community Yoga and Zumba sessions. City of Envigado Municipal Government Mi Pueblo, Envigado
10.
Heritage railway
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A heritage railway is a railway kept to carry living history rail traffic in order to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Often heritage railways are old railway lines preserved in a state which depicts a certain period, or periods, Heritage railway lines contain historic rail infrastructure that has been substituted or made obsolete in modern railway transit systems. Historical installations, such as hand operated points, water cranes, due to the lack of modern technology, or to a desire for historical accuracy, railway operations can be handled with traditional practices, such as the use of physical tokens. Use of heritage infrastructure and operations often calls for assigning roles based on historical occupations to the railway staff, station masters and signalmen, sometimes wearing period-appropriate attire, can be seen on some heritage railways. Most heritage railways carry heritage rolling stock, but modern rail vehicles can be used to showcase railway scenes with historical line infrastructure, still other heritage railways offer a viable public transit option and can therefore sustain operations with a sufficient amount of revenue from regular riders or government subsidies. Childrens railways are extracurricular educational institutions, where children and teenagers learn railway professions, often they are fully functional, passenger-carrying narrow gauge rail lines. This phenomenon originated in the USSR and was developed in Soviet times. Many sites were called pioneer railways, after the communist youth organisation, the first childrens railway was opened Moscow in 1932, and at the breakup of the USSR,52 childrens railways existed in the country. Even though the fall of communist governments has led to closures of these railways, many preserved childrens railways are still functioning in post-Soviet states, many childrens railways were built on parklands in urban areas. Unlike many industrial areas, typically served by a gauge railway. Child volunteers and socialist fiscal policy enabled stagnant existence for many of these railways, the old childrens railways, which still carry traffic, have often retained their original infrastructure and rolling stock, including vintage steam locomotives. Some have also acquired heritage vehicles from other railways, creating passages for trains up steep hills and through mountain regions offers many obstacles which call for special technical solutions. Special steep grade railway -technologies and extensive tunneling may be employed, the use of narrow gauge allows tighter curves in the track and offers a smaller structure gauge and tunnel size. Pit railways have been an important part of operating an underground mine all over the world, small rail vehicles offer effective transportation of ore and waste rock, as well as workers, through narrow tunnels. Sometimes the trains were the mode of transport in the passages between the work sites and the mine entrance. Often the loading gauge of the railway dictated the cross-section of the passages to be dug, and the tunnel, on many mining sites, pit railways have been abandoned due to mine closure or adoption of new kinds of transportation equipment. Nowadays some show mines exhibit a vintage pit railway and offer a chance to experience a mantrip into the mine, Millennium Underground Railway or M1, built from 1894 to 1896, is the oldest line of the Budapest Metro system and the second oldest underground railway in the world. In the 1980s and 1990s, M1 underwent major reconstruction, the original appearance of the old stations has been preserved
11.
Neiva, Huila
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Neiva is the capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a population of about 378,857 inhabitants and it is one of the most important cities in southern Colombia, mainly because of its strategic geographical location. Neiva was first founded in 1539 by Juan de Cabrera in an area now belonging to the municipality of Campoalegre, in 1550, Juan de Alonso y Arias relocated the city to the place that is now the municipality of Villavieja. At this location, the city was destroyed by indigenous tribes in 1560, the city was founded, at its actual location, for the third and final time in 1612 by Diego de Ospina y Medinilla. Neiva became important during the times because of its strategic location. It was located in the route that communicated the Viceroyalty of Peru with Bogotá. The city was declared as the capital of the Province of Neiva, made up of the Neiva, La Plata, Timaná, in 1905 the city became the capital of the newly created Huila Department, which had been severed from the Tolima Department by the national government. In 1967, the city was hit severely by an earthquake of magnitude 7.2, the earthquake destroyed several buildings including the Palacio de las 57 ventanas, the Governors building. Due to its location near the equator and its low altitude and it is about 300 kilometers /186.4 miles from the Colombian capital, Bogotá. The city of Palembang in Indonesia is the antipode of Neiva, Neiva is a distribution center for many consumer goods to the national economy such as rice, coffee, beef, milk, leather by-products and other agricultural products. Its annual agricultural fair held in May showcases horses, cattle and pork from local municipalities, around this sanctuary there are parks and gardens usually crowded by locals and tourists who came to the growing city. The city can be reached by road travel, or by all major national airlines, Neiva is home to several universities which serve primarily Southern Colombia. Among the most important are the Universidad Surcolombiana, the Corporación Universitaria del Huila, the Benito Salas Airport named after Benito Salas Vargas is located inside the city and serves domestic destinations. The city is known as the Bambuco capital, soccer is currently the most popular sport in the city. The city is the base for the Atlético Huila club which competes in the top division of the Colombian professional football league, the games are played at the Guillermo Plazas Alcid Stadium. Basketball had historically a high popularity, although it has decreased in recent years, the cities Basketball games are played at the Coliseo Álvaro Sánchez Silva court. The city has host important national and international sport events
12.
Sogamoso
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Sogamoso is a city in the department of Boyacá of Colombia. It is the capital of the Sugamuxi Province, named after the original Sugamuxi, Sogamoso is nicknamed City of the Sun, based on the original Muisca tradition of pilgrimage and adoring their Sun god Sué at the Sun Temple. The city is located at an altitude of 2,569 metres on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. Sogamoso is named after Sugamuxi or Suamox, the name in Chibcha for the city and Sugamuxi. Suamuxi means Dwelling of the Sun, knowledge about Sugamuxi has been provided by Pedro Simón and the German countess Gertrud von Podewils Dürniz, in her work Chigys Mie. Before the Spanish conquest, Suamox, as it was called, was ruled by the iraca of which the last ruler was called Sugamuxi. The city was a place of pilgrimage and the iraca was both priest and ruler housed in the Sun Temple, a richly ornamented temple honouring Sué, gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada was the conquistador of the Muisca Confederation, arriving in Suamox territories in September 1537. Soldiers of De Quesada accidentally set the Sun Temple on fire, lucas Fernández de Piedrahita narrates about the march of De Quesada to Suamox, the looting of the city and the fire of the temple of the Sun. Soon after the conquest, the missionaries began the construction of a chapel that would open the way to the first Catholic church of the time, located on the central square. Natural scientist Alexander von Humboldt who visited the New Kingdom of Granada at the beginning of the 19th century, valdez Tavera The economy of Sogamoso is centered around agriculture, trade, the steel industry and construction materials, and in the exploitation of limestones, marble and coal. During the years 2007 and 2008, the city had a development in urban construction. Sogamoso is served by Alberto Lleras Camargo Airport, aerocivil lifted the restriction of air operations in September 2009. Of the Mud to the Steel in the Rome of the Chibchas, villa de Leyva was about to be born twice,2,8
13.
Tunja
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Tunja is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense,130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2012 it had an population of 181,407 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá department and the Central Boyacá Province, Tunja is an important educational centre of known universities. The city hosts the most remaining Muisca architecture, Hunzahúa Well, Goranchacha Temple, Tunja is a tourist destination, especially for religious colonial architecture, with the Casa Fundador Gonzalo Suárez Rendón as oldest remnant. It is a stop on the Pan American Highway which connects Tunja to Bogotá and Santa Marta and eventually to the northern, Tunja has a population of approximately 180,000 inhabitants and is located in central Colombia. The city centre is at an elevation of 2,820 metres above sea level, tunjas climate is influenced by its location and altitude. At almost 3000 m it is one of the cities in Colombia. As a result, the city features a subtropical climate with little variation in temperature throughout the year. The earliest evidence of population on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense has been dated to approximately 12.000 years ago. Homus Tequendama inhabited the area by 6375 BCE, archeologists have found human skeletons including arm bones in the area. Many archaeological discoveries were found in the area of the present-day city, during the 1st millennium a. d. the territory was inhabited by the Muisca, who spoke Chibcha and emigrated from Central America through Panama to the Andean Region. The Muisca developed their own religion, calendar and mythology, according to those myths, it was the brutal cacique and prophet Goranchacha who moved the capital for the northern Muisca from Ramiriquí to Tunja, then called Hunza. An era when frequent battles among cacicazgos took place, peace was proposed for the region, Hunzahúa, who came from Ramiriqui, was elected. The capital of his confederation was named Hunza, Hunzahúa took the title of zaque, and reign over the lands from the Chicamocha to Fusagasugá and from the Llanos de San Juan to Panche and Muzo frontiers, including Vélez territory. This helped to unify the Muisca, especially with respect to their language and religion, Saguamanchica, with 50,000 soldiers, decided on a massive attack on zaque Michuá, crossing Guatavita and Chocontá, after which the Battle of Chocontá is named. Michuá dealt with him, supported by an army which doubled Saguamanchica, a new zaque, Quemuenchatocha, was installed, during the tense truce between Bacatá and Hunza. In 1514, Quemuenchatocha found out about the expansionist intentions of the new zipa Nemequene and he asked the caciques of Gámeza, Sugamuxi, Tundama and Sáchica to help him to reinforce his army. A battle was fought in Ventaquemada and, when Nemequene was about to become the victor, he was fatally wounded, iraca retracted his support and Quemuenchatocha got a truce whose terms would end when the Spanish arrived
14.
Cartagena, Colombia
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It is the fifth-largest city in Colombia and the second largest in the region, after Barranquilla. The urban area of Cartagena is also the fifth-largest urban area in the country, economic activities include the maritime and petrochemicals industries, as well as tourism. The city was founded on June 1,1533, and named after Cartagena, Spain, settlement in the region around Cartagena Bay by various indigenous people dates back to 4000 BC. During the Spanish colonial period Cartagena served a key role in administration and expansion of the Spanish empire and it was a center of political and economic activity due to the presence of royalty and wealthy viceroys. In 1984, Cartagenas colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, archaeologists estimate that around 4000 BC, the formative culture was located near the boundary between the present-day departments of Bolívar and Sucre. In this area, archaeologists have found the most ancient ceramic objects of the Americas, archaeological investigations date the decline of the Puerto Hormiga culture and its related settlements to around 3000 BC. The Monsú culture appears to have inherited the Puerto Hormiga cultures use of the art of pottery and also to have developed an economy of agriculture. The Monsú peoples diet was based mostly on shellfish and fresh, the development of the Sinú society in what is today the departments of Córdoba and Sucre, eclipsed these first developments around the Cartagena Bay area. Until the Spanish colonization, many derived from the Karib, Malibu. In the late pre-Columbian era, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta was home to the Tayrona people, around 1500 the area was inhabited by different tribes of the Carib language family, more precisely the Mocanae sub-family. Among these, according to the earliest documents available, the Kalamari had preeminence, rodrigo de Bastidas traveled to the Pearl Coast and the Gulf of Uraba in 1500-01. On 14 Feb.1504, Ferdinand V contracted Juan de la Cosas voyage to Uraba, However, Juan de la Cosa died in 1510, after an armed confrontation with indigenous people, before he could get possession of the Gulf of Urabá area. They preferred the better known Hispaniola and Cuba, De Nicuesa and De Ojeda noted the existence of a big bay on the way from Santo Domingo to Urabá and the Panama isthmus, and that encouraged Bastidas to investigate. Under contract to Queen Joanna of Castile, Pedro de Heredia invaded the Bay of Cartagena with three ships,150 men, and 22 horses, on 14 Jan.1533 and he soon found the village of Calamari abandoned. Proceeding onwards to Turbaco, where Juan de la Cosa had been mortally wounded 13 years earlier, using India Catalina as a guide, Heredia embarked on a three month exploration expedition. He returned to Calamari in April 1533 with gold pieces, including a gold porcupine weighing 132 pounds. In later expeditions, Heredia raided the Sinú tombs and temples of gold and his rule as governor of Cartagena lasted 22 years, before perishing on his return to Spain in 1544. Cartagena was founded on June 1,1533 by the Spanish commander, Pedro de Heredia, the town was named after Cartagena, Spain, where most of Heredias sailors had resided
15.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
16.
Caribbean
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The Caribbean is a region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea, in a wider sense, the mainland countries of Belize, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana are often included due to their political and cultural ties with the region. Geopolitically, the Caribbean islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. From December 15,1954, to October 10,2010, there was a known as the Netherlands Antilles composed of five states. The West Indies cricket team continues to represent many of those nations, the region takes its name from that of the Caribs, an ethnic group present in the Lesser Antilles and parts of adjacent South America at the time of the Spanish conquest. The two most prevalent pronunciations of Caribbean are KARR-ə-BEE-ən, with the accent on the third syllable. The former pronunciation is the older of the two, although the variant has been established for over 75 years. It has been suggested that speakers of British English prefer KARR-ə-BEE-ən while North American speakers more typically use kə-RIB-ee-ən, usage is split within Caribbean English itself. The word Caribbean has multiple uses and its principal ones are geographical and political. The Caribbean can also be expanded to include territories with strong cultural and historical connections to slavery, European colonisation, the United Nations geoscheme for the Americas accords the Caribbean as a distinct region within the Americas. Physiographically, the Caribbean region is mainly a chain of islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea, to the north, the region is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Northern Atlantic Ocean, which lies to the east and northeast. To the south lies the coastline of the continent of South America, politically, the Caribbean may be centred on socio-economic groupings found in the region. For example, the known as the Caribbean Community contains the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in the Atlantic Ocean, are members of the Caribbean Community. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is also in the Atlantic and is a member of the Caribbean Community. According to the ACS, the population of its member states is 227 million people. The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies, Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin and these islands include Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Saint Croix, the Bahamas, and Antigua
17.
Panama Canal
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The Panama Canal is an artificial 48-mile waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for maritime trade. The original locks are 33.5 metres wide, a third, wider lane of locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded canal began operation on June 26,2016. The new locks allow transit of larger, Post-Panamax ships, capable of handling more cargo, France began work on the canal in 1881 but stopped due to engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate. The United States took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal on August 15,1914, Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the canal during construction. The U. S. continued to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for handover to Panama. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, in 1999 the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government and is now managed and operated by the government-owned Panama Canal Authority. Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, by 2012, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal. It takes six to eight hours to pass through the Panama Canal, the American Society of Civil Engineers has called the Panama Canal one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Such a route would have given the Spanish a military advantage over the Portuguese, during an expedition from 1788 to 1793, Alessandro Malaspina outlined plans for its construction. Given the strategic location of Panama and the potential offered by its narrow isthmus separating two great oceans, other links in the area were attempted over the years. The ill-fated Darien scheme was launched by the Kingdom of Scotland in 1698 to set up a trade route. Generally inhospitable conditions thwarted the effort, and it was abandoned in April 1700, another effort was made in 1843. They referred to it as the Atlantic and Pacific Canal and it was a wholly British endeavor and it was expected to be completed in five years, but the plan was never carried out. At nearly the same time, other ideas were floated, including a canal across Mexicos Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Nothing came of that plan either. )In 1846 the Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty, negotiated between the U. S. and New Granada, granted the United States transit rights and the right to intervene militarily in the isthmus. In 1849, the discovery of gold in California created great interest in a crossing between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Panama Railway was built by the United States to cross the isthmus and opened in 1855
18.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
19.
Coal
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Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. Coal is composed primarily of carbon, along with quantities of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen. A fossil fuel, coal forms when plant matter is converted into peat, which in turn is converted into lignite, then sub-bituminous coal, after that bituminous coal. This involves biological and geological processes that take place over time, throughout history, coal has been used as an energy resource, primarily burned for the production of electricity and heat, and is also used for industrial purposes, such as refining metals. Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide, the extraction of coal, its use in energy production and its byproducts are all associated with environmental and health effects including climate change. Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, since 1983, the worlds top coal producer has been China. In 2015 China produced 3,747 million tonnes of coal –47. 7% of 7,861 million tonnes world coal production, in 2015 other large producers were United States, India, European Union and Australia. The word originally took the col in Old English, from Proto-Germanic *kula. In Old Turkic languages, kül is ash, cinders, öčür is quench, the compound charcoal in Turkic is öčür kül, literally quenched ashes, cinders, coals with elided anlaut ö- and inflection affixes -ülmüş. At various times in the geologic past, the Earth had dense forests in low-lying wetland areas, due to natural processes such as flooding, these forests were buried underneath soil. As more and more soil deposited over them, they were compressed, the temperature also rose as they sank deeper and deeper. As the process continued the plant matter was protected from biodegradation and oxidation and this trapped the carbon in immense peat bogs that were eventually covered and deeply buried by sediments. Under high pressure and high temperature, dead vegetation was slowly converted to coal, as coal contains mainly carbon, the conversion of dead vegetation into coal is called carbonization. The wide, shallow seas of the Carboniferous Period provided ideal conditions for coal formation, the exception is the coal gap in the Permian–Triassic extinction event, where coal is rare. Coal is known from Precambrian strata, which predate land plants — this coal is presumed to have originated from residues of algae, in its dehydrated form, peat is a highly effective absorbent for fuel and oil spills on land and water. It is also used as a conditioner for soil to make it able to retain. Lignite, or brown coal, is the lowest rank of coal, jet, a compact form of lignite, is sometimes polished and has been used as an ornamental stone since the Upper Palaeolithic
20.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
21.
Rapid transit
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Rapid transit, also known as heavy rail, metro, subway, tube, or underground, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains and they are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities. However, some transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines. It is unchallenged in its ability to transport large numbers of people quickly over short distances with little use of land, variations of rapid transit include people movers, small-scale light metro, and the commuter rail hybrid S-Bahn. The worlds first rapid-transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened as a railway in 1863. In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, china has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world. The worlds longest single-operator rapid transit system by length is the Shanghai Metro. The worlds largest single rapid transit service provider by both length of revenue track (665 miles and number of stations is the New York City Subway. The busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Tokyo subway system, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, the Moscow Metro, the Beijing Subway, Metro is the most common term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. One of these terms may apply to a system, even if a large part of the network runs at ground level. In Scotland, however, the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway, in the US, underground mass transit systems are primarily known as subways, whereas the term metro is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area. In that vein, Chicagos commuter rail system, serving the area, is called Metra. Exceptions in naming rapid transit systems are Washington DCs subway system the Washington Metro, Los Angeles Metro Rail, and the Miami Metrorail, the opening of Londons steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked the beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant, experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. Electric traction was more efficient, faster and cleaner than steam, in 1890 the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Both railways were merged into London Underground. The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset, budapest in Hungary and Glasgow, Chicago and New York all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services. Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services, hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro, which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems
22.
Barranquilla
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Barranquilla is a city and municipality located in northern Colombia. It is the major city in South America that was populated before its formal foundation. Barranquilla is located near the Caribbean Sea, the city is located in the Atlántico Department, of which it is the capital. Barranquilla lies strategically next to the delta of the Magdalena River,7.5 kilometres from its mouth at the Caribbean Sea, serving as port for river and it is also the main industrial, shopping, educational and cultural centre of the Caribbean Region of Colombia. The city is the core of the Metropolitan Area of Barranquilla, which includes the municipalities of Soledad, Galapa, Malambo. Barranquilla was legally established as a town on April 7,1813, Barranquilla became Colombias principal port, and with its level of industrialization and modernity earned the city the nickname Colombias Golden Gate. As government investment increased in other Colombian cities, Barranquillas national position was eclipsed, ernesto Cortissoz International Airport, built in Barranquilla in 1919, was the first airport in South America. The city is served by domestic and international flights, Barranquillas name refers to the canyons that existed in the area adjacent to the Magdalena, where the city arose. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the name barranca was common in coastal communities and this name was probably derived from an alteration of Aragon. In 1921, President Marco Fidel Suárez called the city the Pórtico Dorado de la República in recognition of its importance as a port since the late 19th century. In 1946, opening the 5th Central American and Caribbean Games, Barranquilla is also known as La Arenosa, so named by the president of New Granada, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, during his stay in Barranquilla in 1849. Curramba, la Bella was also used to refer to Barranquilla by journalist Juan Eugenio Cañavera in Bogotá in the mid-twentieth century. The la Bella part was assigned by fellow journalist Roger Araújo as a counterweight to the word Curramba, the thinker Agustín Nieto Caballero called Barranquilla Ciudad de los Brazos Abiertos and Enrique Ancízar, president of the Colombian Society of Agriculture, called it Faro de América. Flag In 1811, the patriots who won the Independence of the Cartagenas adopted the current flag and it consists of three rectangles, red being the outermost, then yellow, and green in the center. Red symbolizes the blood of patriots, yellow, the sun of freedom and hope, and green, in the centre, there is an eight-pointed silver star which symbolizes the eight provinces of the confederacy. The flag was carried by Simon Bolívar during the campaign of Lower Magdalena in 1812, in 1814, the Congress of Tunja adopted it as the emblem of the United Provinces of New Granada. In 1910, the Council approved the flag for Barranquilla, the lyrics were written by the poet Amira de la Rosa and the music is of Panama, by Simón Urbina. Other symbols The flowers Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, and Tabebuia rosea, unlike other cities in Colombia such as Cartagena or Bogotá D. C
23.
Puerto Colombia
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Puerto Colombia is a coastal town and municipality in Atlántico Department, Colombia founded in the late 1800s. Famous for its Pier of Puerto Colombia, duties were later transferred to the larger and modern Port of Barranquilla in Bocas de Cenizas, the mouth of the Magdalena River in the Caribbean sea. The town enjoyed a glorious post-colonial period as the port on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. In the second half of the 20th century, Puerto Colombia faced a decline, eclipsed by Barranquilla. The focus of important public-private partnerships, Puerto Colombia is expected to regain its prominent role as the sea port of Colombia within a decade. Carlos Altahona, Puerto Colombias Mayor, was recognized in December 2012 as the best municipal leader in Colombia for his efforts to eradicate extreme poverty, alcaldia de Puerto Colombia - official website Government of Colombia website
24.
Girardot, Cundinamarca
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Girardot is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is the second most important city of Cundinamarca according its production and it is home to a number of recreational and vacational spots, mainly visited by people from Bogotá, as it is located at less than three hours drive from the city but enjoys a tropical climate. In Pre Colombian times the municipality of Girardot was inhabited by a tribe of Indians called the “Panches” whose origins are unknown, the municipality began with the hamlet of “La Chivatera” because it was very common in the area to raise goats. The hamlet was located in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Tocaima, through the aforementioned hamlet runs the Magdalena river moving southwest towards the center of the country. This was documented in the ordinance 20 on October 9,1852 that says “… create a district with the name of Girardot…”. The first mayor of the district was named Claudio Clavijo, the parish was created in 1866, and was the first parish of priest José Marcelino Pardo. The city began to develop in a grid centered on San Miguel square. The first hotel in the city was built in 1884 to accommodate the constant flow of travelers, two years after the hotel was finished the population of the port was recorded as 2,163. As a result of the Thousand Days War a large number of refugees from the south. Girardot has drainage basins and watersheds, the upper basin of the Magdalena River becomes the water resources of greater magnitude in a vast area of the country and the Bogotá River downstream. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for Giradots climate is Aw, with hot conditions throughout the course of the year. Average temperature is 28 °C, with maximum of 38 °C and it has a bimodal pluviometric regimen with an average precipitation of 1167 mm per year. The dry periods are on the months of January and February, June, July and August, rainy months are in the months of March, April and May, and October and November. The warmest month, on average, is August with a temperature of 86.0 °F. The main economy of Girardot is based on tourism and it boasts many waterparks, resorts, hotels and clubs, such as Peñalisa, El Peñon, El Bachué, Girardot is also famous regionally for the quality of its bread. Because it is only a short drive from Bogotá, it is a popular weekend hangout, juan Alfredo Pinto Saavedra, former Colombian ambassador to India Marta Gomez, singer and songwriter Charlie Zaa, singer. Girardot - Commercial and Tourist Information
25.
Soacha
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Soacha is considered a borough of Bogotá, but officially it is an autonomous municipality of the department of Cundinamarca. It has an important industrial zone and is home to mostly working-class families, Soacha borders Bojacá and Mosquera to the north, Sibaté and Pasca to the south, to the east the capital Bogotá and to the west Granada and San Antonio del Tequendama. With a population of 522,442 inhabitants, Soacha is Bogotas most populous suburb, the name Soacha is derived from the Chibcha words Súa, name of Sun god Sué, and chá which means man, Man of the Sun. The original name Suecha has been changed to Soacha over time, the zipa of Bacatá ruled over Soacha. Modern Soacha was founded on 15th of August,1600 and it gained national notoriety after the presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán was assassinated on August 18,1989 while visiting the city during his presidential campaign. Also during 1989, the bombing of Avianca Flight 203 happened in Soacha, the bombing was planned by Cartel de Medellin leader Pablo Escobar, who intended to murder presidential candidate Cesar Gaviria, who was supposed to be on board. Gaviria had decided not to fly and instead went on to become President of Colombia, in 2008, the false positives scandal broke when 22 men from Soacha who had been recruited for work were found dead several hundreds of miles away. They had been killed by the military and presented to authorities as guerrilla fighters killed in battle, similar cases have since appeared all over the country. Ciudad Verde is a development project for the middle class residents of Soacha with housing, parks. The project started in 2010 and is scheduled to be finished at the end of 2016, walter Pedraza, professional cyclist Website of the city council
26.
Tequendama Falls
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The Tequendama Falls is a 132 metres high waterfall of the Bogotá River, located 32 kilometres southwest of Bogotá in the municipality of Soacha. Established in ~10000 BCE, El Abra and Tequendama were the first permanent settlements in Colombia, one of the country’s tourist attractions, the falls are located in a forested area 32 kilometres west of Bogotá. The river surges through a gorge that narrows to about 18 metres at the brink of the 132 metres high falls. During the month of December the falls become completely dry, the falls, once a common site for suicides, may be reached by road from Bogotá. The name Tequendama means in Chibcha, he who precipitated downward, according to the Muisca religion, the waterfall was created by Bochica, who used his staff to break the rock and release the water that covered the Bogotá savanna. The river that feeds the falls is considered to be one of the most contaminated in the world. The Tequendama Falls has the honour of being the largest wastewater falls in the world. Liquid wastes from the city are flushed untreated into the Bogotá River at the edge of the sabana. Downstream from Bogotá, the river is filled with sewage, a historic hotel building, now a museum that overlooks the waterfall is undergoing restoration aided by the French government. Muisca religion Bochica Tequendama Falls Museum Tequendamita Falls Tequendama List of waterfalls by type Lake Iguaque Ocampo López, Bogotá, Colombia, Plaza & Janes Editores Colombia S. A. pp. 1–238. El gran salto del Tequendama - El Espectador The Haunted Hotel at Tequendama Falls
27.
Usme
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Usme is the 5th locality of the Capital District of Bogotá, capital city of Colombia. Usmes urban area is separated from the urban area of Bogotá. Usme was inhabited first by indigenous groups during the Herrera Period, the modern locality of Usme was founded in 1650 as San Pedro de Usme which became a center for the rural areas nearby dedicated to agricultural activities. It was named after San Pedro and Usme from Chibcha, meaning Nest of love, the daughter of zipa Saguamanchica was called Usminia. In 1911 became a municipality of Cundinamarca with the name of Usme and became known for its constant problems between landlords, tenants and peasant workers for the land, during the mid 20th century an agrarian reform finally arranged the land. The area then shifted from a production to industrial materials production mainly for construction. In 1972, Usme is assigned to Bogotás district as one of its localities, Usme has one of Bogotás natural parks, called Entrenubes, destined for ecotourism and to preserve the local wildlife. Usme has 126 neighborhoods and 17 veredas, usmes main point of access is the Caracas Avenue which is covered by the Transmilenio bus service in the Portal de Usme Station. The Caracas Avenue then becomes a highway which connects Bogotá and Cundinamarca Department with the plains of the Llanos region in the Meta Department towards its capital Villavicencio
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Venezuela – (Railroad of Cúcuta) - currently inoperative, proposed to be restored[8]
Brazil – no
Ecuador – no
Peru – no
Panama – no
Media related to Rail transport in Colombia at Wikimedia Commons