The Suárez River, originally Saravita, is a river in the

Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team that currently competes in the Talent League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. History Inaugural playing squad (1992) Honours *Premiers (2): 2002, 2013 *Runners-up (6): 199 ...

of the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. The river originates in

Lake Fúquene Lake Fúquene is a heart-shaped lake located in the Ubaté-Chiquinquirá Valley, part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, in the north of Cundinamarca, Colombia, at the border with Boyacá. The Andean lake, at an average altitude of , was considere ...

on the border of Cundinamarca and Boyacá and its mouth is the confluence with the

Chicamocha River Chicamocha River is a river of Boyacá and Santander in central-eastern Colombia. It is part of the Magdalena river system that flows into the Caribbean Sea. The Chicamocha River rises in the municipality of Tuta in the Department of Boyacá ...

, forming the

Sogamoso River Sogamoso River () is a river of northern Colombia. It flows into the Magdalena River and on to the Caribbean Sea. The Sogamoso Dam on the river near Bucaramanga was completed in 2014. Course The Sogamoso River is a river in northern Colombia, w ...

in Santander. It is part of the Magdalena Basin flowing towards the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. The long river is one of the longest on the

Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. (Do not confuse with The Altiplano or the Altiplano Nariñense, both fur ...

and forms the natural borders of Cundinamarca and Boyacá and Boyacá and Santander in its upstream and downstream part respectively. The river formed the trajectory for the

Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca people, Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andes, Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose M ...

, when the conquistadors went uphill into the Andes from the tropical lowlands of

Barrancabermeja Barrancabermeja () is a municipality and city in Colombia, located on the shore of the Magdalena River, in the western part of the department of Santander. It is home to the largest oil refinery in the country, under direct management of ECOP ...

in the north. The difference in altitude along the river course, from at the source to at its mouth, in its large basin causes climatic variations, especially with respect to precipitation. The frequent floodings of the river have given the Suárez River its name;

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

Gonzalo Suárez Rendón Gonzalo Suárez Rendón (1503, Málaga, Spain, Málaga, Spanish Empire, Castile – 1590 (or 1583), Tunja, New Kingdom of Granada) was a Spanish conquistador, crusader and conquistador, known as the founder of the capital of Boyacá Department, B ...

tried to cross the river in one of his conquest expeditions, but the sudden flooding made his horse drown in the Suárez River.

Etymology

The Suárez River is named after conquistador

, after his horse drowned in the river when it experienced sudden flooding.Río Suárez foco de infección
- El Tiempo The original name in

Chibcha The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonizati ...

, given by the

Guane Guane is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1602. Geography The wards of the municipality include Punta de La Sierra, Portales, Guane 1, Guane 2, Combate la Teneria, Isabel Rubio, Sabalo, and Moll ...

was ''Saravita'', meaning "departs from here".Pita Pico, 2013, p.310

Description

The Suárez River is long and its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

extends over , of which in Santander. It is sourced by

in Boyacá at an altitude of and forms together with the

the

in Santander at an altitude of .Sanabria & Salas, 2011 The river starts on the

where it forms the boundary between Cundinamarca and Boyacá and for a major part of its course downstream it is the natural boundary between Boyacá and Santander. The Suárez River is the only outlet of Lake Fúquene.CAR, 2006, p.15 In

Chiquinquirá Chiquinquirá is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Western Boyacá Province. Located some 115 km north of Bogotá, Chiquinquirá is situated above sea level and has a yearly aver ...

, it meets the

Chiquinquirá River Chiquinquirá is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Western Boyacá Province. Located some 115 km north of Bogotá, Chiquinquirá is situated above sea level and has a yearly avera ...

, and in Puente Nacional Quebrada Aguaclara. In Barbosa, the Suárez River meets the

Moniquirá River Moniquirá is a town and municipality in Boyacá Department, Colombia, part of the subregion of the Ricaurte Province. It is known for its "bocadillos" and "panelitas de leche" (both little sweet cakes). Moniquirá borders San José de Pare in the ...

and in

Moniquirá Moniquirá is a town and municipality in Boyacá Department, Colombia, part of the subregion of the Ricaurte Province. It is known for its "bocadillos" and "panelitas de leche" (both little sweet cakes). Moniquirá borders San José de Pare in the ...

the Ubasa River. West of

San Gil San Gil is a town and municipality in the Department of Santander in northeastern Colombia, located roughly 300 km (192 mi) from Bogotá and 95 km from the department's capital, Bucaramanga. As of 2020, San Gil had a population of 5 ...

, the Fonce River flows into the Suárez River and in Villanueva the Chicamocha River and the Suárez River form the Sogamoso River together.

Climate

Other headwaters are the Lenguazaque River,

Ráquira River Ráquira, is a municipality and town in Boyacá Department, Colombia, part of the subregion of the Ricaurte Province. Ráquira is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and the urban center at an altitude of . It borders Tinjacá and Sutamarchan ...

Ubaté River The Ubaté River is a river on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Etymology The name Ubaté comes from the native name "Ebate", in Muysccubun meaning "bloodied land" or "sower of the mouth". Description The Ubaté River ...

, Susa River,

Simijaca River Simijaca () is a town and municipality in the Ubaté Province, part of the Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. The town centre is located at an altitude of on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at from the capital Bogotá. Simijaca borders the Boyacá D ...

and

Cucunubá Cucunubá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Ubaté Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. It borders with the municipalities of Ubaté, Lenguazaque, Suesca, Chocontá, Tausa and Sutatausa. Geography The urban centre ...

.CAR, 2006, p.11 Nearby

Lake Suesca Lake Suesca is a natural water body situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, belonging to the municipalities of Suesca and Cucunubá in the department of Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The Drainage basin, basin has a semi-ellip ...

has an

endorheic basin An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

, not flowing out to the Suárez River.CAR, 2006, p.17 Around

Saboyá Saboyá is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. Etymology Saboyá is an Italian name brought by European colonizers.Inga sp.'', ''

Croton funckianus Croton may refer to: Biology *Crotoneae, a tribe of the flowering plant subfamily Crotonoideae * ''Croton'' (plant), a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae **''Croton capitatus'', also known as the woolly croton **'' Croton hancei'', a specie ...

'', '' Mircyanthes sp.'', '' Gynerium saggitattum'', tropical smoke bush (''Euphorbia cotinifolia''), castorbeans (''Ricinus communis''), '' Alchornea sp.'', Colombian oaks (''Quercus humboldtii''), ''

Eucalyptus globulus ''Eucalyptus globulus'', commonly known as southern blue gum or blue gum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is a tall, evergreen tree Endemism, endemic to southeastern Australia. This ''Eucalyptus'' species has most ...

'' and '' Cupressus sp.'', '' Pinus sp.'' and '' Acacia sp.''CAR, 2006, p.122

History

The Suárez River is of importance in the history of Colombia, as it formed the fluvial artery that the

conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

followed after they left the tropical lowlands of La Tora, present-day Barrancabermeja, uphill towards the

Muisca Confederation The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', ''iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andes, Andean highlands of what is today Colombia before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, Spanis ...

. The Spanish conquerors followed the course of the Suárez river on the left bank until reaching Lake Fúquene.Conquista rápida y saqueo cuantioso de Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
/ref> When

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (; 1509 – 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory n ...

and his greatly reduced troops arrived at the lake, the lake levels were estimated to have been higher than in 1950.Cabrera Ortiz, 1957, p.3

Tourism

* Every year in early January, in Barbosa, a festival is held on one of the many river beaches. At this festival Miss Tanga is elected. *

is a tourist hotspot, famous for its water sports, that happens mostly on the Fonce River, but also on the Suárez River.Rafting Río Suárez en San Gil
/ref>

Image gallery

File:Catedral-Tunja TumbaFundador.jpg, Tomb of Gonzalo Suárez Rendón in

Tunja Tunja () is a municipality and city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 the municipality had a population of 172,548. It is the capital of B ...

, namesake of the river File:Rafting San Gil - Río Fonce.jpg, Rafting in San Gil File:Rio Fonce, san Gil.jpg, Río Fonce near San Gil

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Suarez River Rivers of Colombia Geography of Cundinamarca Department Geography of Boyacá Department Geography of Santander Department

Rivers A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...