Tequendama Falls

{{Infobox waterfall

| name = Tequendama Falls

| native_name = Salto del Tequendama

| photo = Salto de Tequendama 1.jpeg

| photo_caption = Tequendama Falls

| map = Colombia

| map_width =

| relief = yes

| coordinates = {{coord|4|34|27|N|74|17|36|W|type:waterbody_scale:50000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| location = Soacha,
Cundinamarca,
Colombia

| type =

| elevation = {{convert|2385|m|abbr=on}}

| height = {{convert|132|m|abbr=on}}

| height_longest =

| number_drops = 1

| average_width =

| average_flow =

| watercourse = Bogotá River

| world_rank =

}}

The Tequendama Falls ({{Langx|es|Salto del Tequendama}}) is a {{convert|132|m|ft}} high waterfall of the Bogotá River, located {{convert|32|km|mi}} southwest of Bogotá in the municipality of Soacha. Named after the adjacent settlement of Tequendama, it holds historical significance as one of Colombia's earliest permanent settlements.Ocampo López, 2007, p.27 The falls were painted in 1854 by Frederic Edwin Church.{{cite web | url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-fall-of-tequendama-near-bogot%C3%A1-new-granada-frederic-church-american-b-1826-d-1900/CwELlhw9464hKg | title=The Fall of Tequendama, Near Bogotá, New Granada - Frederic Church (American, b.1826, d.1900) }} One of the country's tourist attractions, the falls are located in a forested area {{convert|32|km|mi}} west of Bogotá. The river surges through a rocky gorge that narrows to about {{convert|18|m|ft}} at the brink of the {{convert|132|m|ft}} high falls. During the month of December the falls become completely dry. The falls, once a common site for suicides,[http://www.britannica.com/place/Tequendama-Falls Tequendama Falls] - Encyclopædia Britannica may be reached by road from Bogotá.

Muisca origin

In Chibcha, the nameTequendama translates to: "he who precipitated downward".{{in lang|es}} [http://transcripcionesreveladoras.blogspot.com.co/2013/07/historia-de-colombia-la-civilizacion.html Etymology Tequendama]

According to the Muisca religion, the waterfall was created by the legendary hero Bochica, who used his staff to break the rock and release the water that covered the Bogotá savanna.{{Cite book|title=Natural Wonders of the World|url=https://archive.org/details/naturalwondersof00sche|url-access=registration|publisher=Reader's Digest Association, Inc|year=1980|isbn=0-89577-087-3|editor-last=Scheffel|editor-first=Richard L.|location=United States of America|pages=[https://archive.org/details/naturalwondersof00sche/page/375 375]|editor-last2=Wernet|editor-first2=Susan J.}} According to another legend, during the Spanish conquest and evangelization of the Americas, in order to escape the new colonial order indigenous people of the area would jump off the Salto Del Tequendama and become eagles to fly to their freedom.

Recovery of the falls and its surroundings

The river that feeds the falls is currently considered to be one of the most contaminated in the world.{{in lang|es}} [http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/limpieza-del-rio-bogota-no-esta-tan-en-panales-como-la-gente-cree/382708-3 Contamination Tequendama Falls]

"The Tequendama Falls has the dubious honor of being the largest wastewater falls in the world. Liquid wastes from the city are flushed untreated into the Bogotá River at the lower edge of the sabana, a few kilometers upstream of the Tequendama Falls. 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.{{in lang|es}} [http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/cundinamarca/casona-del-tequendama-recibe-apoyo-de-francia-_12543456-4 Casona del Tequendama recibe apoyo de Francia] - El Tiempo

References

Bibliography

{{cite book |author=Ocampo López, Javier |author-link=Javier Ocampo López |year=2007 |title=Grandes culturas indígenas de América |trans-title=Great indigenous cultures of the Americas |location=Bogotá, Colombia |publisher=Plaza & Janes Editores Colombia S.A. |isbn=978-958-14-0368-4 |pages=1–238 |language=es}}

External links

{{in lang|es}} [http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/bogota/el-gran-salto-del-tequendama-articulo-558171 El gran salto del Tequendama] - El Espectador
[http://desertedplaces.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-haunted-hotel-at-tequendama-falls.html The Haunted Hotel at Tequendama Falls]
[https://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/explore-the-collection?id=23275620 The Falls of Tequendama, Near Bogotá, New Granada by Frederic Edwin Church, via Cincinnati Art Museum]

Category:Waterfalls of Colombia

Category:Geography of Cundinamarca Department

Category:Tourist attractions in Cundinamarca Department

Category:Muisca mythology and religion

Waterfalls