Funza

Funza
Municipality and town

Wetland in Funza

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Location of the municipality and town of Funza in the Cundinamarca Department of Colombia
Funza

Location in Colombia

Coordinates: 4°43′3″N 74°12′34″W / 4.71750°N 74.20944°W / 4.71750; -74.20944
Country  Colombia
Department Cundinamarca
Province Western Savanna
Founded 20 April 1537
Founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Government
  Mayor Manuel Antonio Montagu Briceño
(2016-2019)
Area
  Municipality and town 70 km2 (30 sq mi)
  Urban 4 km2 (2 sq mi)
Elevation 2,548 m (8,360 ft)
Population (2015)
  Municipality and town 75,350
  Density 1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
  Urban 70,622
Demonym(s) Funzano
Time zone Colombia Standard Time (UTC-5)
Area code(s) +1
Website Official website

Funza (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈfunsa]) is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Western Savanna Province, of the department of Cundinamarca. Funza is situated on the Bogotá savanna, the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense with the urban centre at an altitude of 2,548 metres (8,360 ft). In and around Funza wetlands remain to exist, the remnants of the Pleistocene Lake Humboldt. The town is part of the Metropolitan Area of Bogotá and borders Madrid and Tenjo in the north, Mosquera in the south, Madrid in the west and Cota and the locality Engativá of the capital Bogotá in the east. The eastern boundary is formed by the Bogotá River.[1]

Etymology

The name Funza comes from Chibcha and means "Powerful lord".[1]

History

In the times before the Spanish conquest, Funza was an important village in the Muisca Confederation. This loose confederation of rulers of the Muisca had as southern ruler the zipa based in Bacatá. It is said that the actual location of Bacatá was in Funza.[1]

Modern Funza was founded by conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada en route in his search for El Dorado on April 20, 1537.[1]

Economy

The economy of Funza is based on agricultural and industrial activities. Main agricultural products are potatoes and maize. Other industries involve plastics and metalcraft production.[1]

See also

Spanish conquest of the Muisca
Muisca
Wetlands of Bogotá

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Funza.

Coordinates: 4°43′N 74°13′W / 4.717°N 74.217°W / 4.717; -74.217

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.