The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca

Cundinamarca Department

- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....

 department of Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, crossing the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the western limits of Bogotá

Bogotá

Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

. The large population and major industrial base in its watershed have resulted in extremely severe contamination problems for the river.

Course

The headwaters of the Bogotá River are in the municipality of Villapinzón

Villapinzón, Cundinamarca

Villapinzón is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....

, in the northeastern part of Cundinamarca

Cundinamarca Department

- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....

 near the limits with Boyacá

Boyacá Department

Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...

. It has a course of about 150 km as it crosses the Bogotá Savannah, passing through eleven small municipalities, before reaching the city of Bogotá. As it runs along the western border of the city, the river forms the outlet for •the heavily polluted Salitre, Funza and Tunjuelito Rivers. After passing through the municipality of Soacha

Soacha

Soacha is the city of Colombia on the southern edge of Bogotá, the country's capital. It has an important industrial zone and is home to mostly working class families.-Demographics:...

, the Bogotá River plunges off the Savannah at the Tequendama Falls

Tequendama Falls

The Tequendama Falls is a 132m high waterfall on the Bogotá River, located about 30 km southwest of Bogotá in the municipality of San Antonio del Tequendama...

. It then follows a steep course, falling about 2,000 meters in 50 km, to join the Magdalena River

Magdalena River

The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...

 at Girardot

Girardot, Cundinamarca

Girardot is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. 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 .Girardot is the second...

.

External links

Eduardo Uribe Botero (2005), "The water treatment plants of the Bogotá River: Case study", Universidad de los Andes - CEDE. http://economia.uniandes.edu.co/~economia/archivos/temporal/D2005-08.pdf

Centro Italiano per la Riqualificazione Fluviale (2003), "El problema del Rio Bogotá", 3rd World Water Forum. http://www.cirf.org/inglese/kyoto/waterforum3.htm#cases