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 .
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.