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Bogotá, Colombia
Bogotá - officially named Bogotá, D.C. (D.C. for "Distrito Capital", which means "Capital District"), formerly called Santa Fe de Bogotá, is the capital city of Colombia, as well as the most populous city in the country, with 7,033,914 inhabitants (2007). Bogotá and its metropolitan area, which includes municipalities such as Chía, Cota, Soacha, Cajicá and La Calera, had an estimated population of 8,244,980 as of 2007. Bogotá's altitude makes it the third-highest major city in the world after La Paz and Quito. In terms of land area, the city of Bogota is the largest in Colombia.
"Bacatá" (which means "planted fields") by the Muiscas, was the center of their civilization before the Spanish explorers colonized the area, and it sustained a large population. The European settlement was founded in August 6, 1538 by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and was named "Santa Fé de Bacatß" after his birthplace Santa Fé and the local name. "Bacatá" had become the modern "Bogotá" by the time it was made the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada, which was then part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, and later of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. The city soon became one of the centers of Spanish colonial power and civilization in South America.
In 1810-11 its citizens revolted against Spanish rule and set up a government of their own, but had to contend with internal divisions and the temporary return to power of Spanish military loyalists who retook the city in 1816. In 1819 Simón Bolívar recaptured it after his victory at Boyacá. Bogotá was then made the capital of Gran Colombia, a federation combining the territories of modern Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. When Gran Colombia was broken up, Bogotá remained the capital of New Granada, which later became the Republic of Colombia.
In 1956 the municipality was joined to other neighboring municipalities forming a "Special District" (Spanish: Distrito Especial). The Constitution of 1991 confirmed Bogotá as the Capital of Colombia, gave it the name "Santa Fe de Bogotá", and changed the category from Special District to "Capital District" (Distrito Capital).
In August 2000 the name was officially changed back to simply "Bogotá". The local government consists of a Capital District. Samuel Moreno Rojas was elected Mayor of Bogotá for the period 2008-2011.
Location
Bogotá is located near the geographic center of Colombia, on the east of the Savannah of Bogotá (Sabana de Bogotá), 2640 meters (8661 feet) above sea level. Although "sabana", as it is popularly called, is literally "savannah", the geographical site is actually a high plateau in the Andes mountains. The extended region is also known as "Altiplano Cundiboyacense" which literally means "high plateau of Cundinamarca and Boyaca"
The Bogotá River crosses the 'sabana' forming Tequendama Falls to the south. Tributary rivers form valleys with flourishing villages, whose economy is based on agriculture, livestock raising and artisanal production.
The 'sabana' is bordered to the east by the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes mountain range. Surrounding hills, which limit city growth, run from south to north, parallel to the Guadalupe and Monserrate mountains. The western city limit is the Bogotá River. The Sumapaz paramo (moorland) borders the south and to the north Bogotá extends over the mentioned plateau up to the towns of Chía and Sopó.
Climate
The average temperature on the 'sabana' is 14.0ºC (57ºF), varying from -8ºC (18ºF) to 23ºC (74ºF). Dry and rainy seasons alternate throughout the year. The driest months are December, January, February and March; the rainiest are April, May, September, October and November. June and July are usually rainy periods and August is sunny with high winds. Hailstorms are common during the rainy season, and can be very strong, especially in October.
Frost usually occurs in dry season. During this period, the temperature falls below -4ºC (24ºF) at night and ascend to 25ºC (77ºF) in the day. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -8ºC (17ºF) inside the city and -10ºC (14ºF) in the nearby towns of the savanna. The highest temperature ever recorded was 28ºC (82ºF).
Climatic conditions are irregular and quite variable due to the El Niño and La Niña climatic phenomena, which occur in and around the Pacific basin and are responsible for very pronounced climatic changes.
Demographics
The largest and most populous city in Colombia, Bogotá has 7,881,156 inhabitants in its metropolitan area (2005 census).
 Similar to the demographics of Colombia as a whole, the vast bulk of the city's population are mestizo in origin (those of mixed Amerindian and white European descent), in addition to a smaller population of white European descent. The population of Afro-Colombians in Bogota is smaller than cities along the coast such as Cartagena, where Afro-Colombians have historically resided.
Government
Bogotá is the capital of the Republic of Colombia, and houses the national legislature, the Supreme Court of Justice, and the center of the executive administration as well as the residence of the President of the Republic. The Principal Mayor and District Council - both elected by popular vote - are responsible for city administration.
Each of the 20 localities are governed by an administrative board elected by popular vote, made up of no less than seven members. The Principal Mayor designates local mayors from candidates nominated by the respective administrative board.
Economy
 Bogotá is Colombia's largest economic center, followed by Medellín, Cali, and Barranquilla. Most companies in Colombia have their headquarters in Bogotá (for example, Bavaria, Avianca), is the site of Colombia's main stock market, and it is home to many foreign companies doing business in Colombia and the greater South American continent. Bogotá is a major center for import and export of goods for Colombia and the Andean Community in Latin America.
Bogotá is the center of Colombian business. It has a busy banking, insurance sector, and a Stock exchange. Engineering firms provide services for many regions of Colombia and Central America. Bogotá houses the central governmental institutions and military headquarters. It is the centre of the telecommunications network and has the biggest industrial facilities in the country.
Bogotá also receives money from exports like flowers and emeralds. In downtown Bogotá, millions of dollars in domestically produced rough and cut emeralds are bought and sold daily. Other important industries include financial services, especially banking. Bogotá is headquarters to major commercial banks, and to the Banco de la República, Colombia's central bank. Bogotá is also a printing and publishing centre. The city is a major convention destination with many major convention centres: Centro Ferial de Convenciones Corferias, Centro de Convenciones y Eventos Cafam, Centro de Convenciones Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, among others. Because of its status as site of the country's capital, it is home to a number of government agencies, which represent another major component of the city's economy.
The city's industrial base includes staples of the Colombian economy such as GM Colmotores, Compañía Colombiana Automotriz, and Ecopetrol.
Transportation
Bogotá's growth has placed a strain on its roads and highways, but within the past decade significant efforts to upgrade the infrastructure have been undertaken. The TransMilenio rapid transit system, created during Enrique Peñalosa's mayoral term, is a form of bus-rapid transit that has been quickly and affordably deployed as an appropriate stopgap measure to compensate for the lack of a metro system. Despite the city's chronic congestion, many of the ideas enacted during the Peñalosa years are regarded worldwide to be cost-effective, efficient and unique solutions. In addition to TransMilenio, the Peñalosa administration and voter-approved referenda helped to establish travel restrictions on private cars during peak hours, "Car Free Days" on Sundays, a massive system of bicycle paths and segregated lanes called 'ciclorutas', and the removal of thousands of parking spots in an attempt to make roads more pedestrian-friendly.
Private car ownership, despite being under 25%, forms a major part of the congestion, in addition to taxis, buses and commercial vehicles. However, due to the cicloruta system, bicycles have become an increasingly important form of transportation as well.
Buses remain the main means of mass transit. There are two bus systems: the traditional system and Trasmilenio. The traditional system runs a variety of bus types, operated by several companies on normal streets and avenues.
The buses are divided into two categories: "ejecutivo", which is supposed to be a deluxe service and is not supposed to carry standing passengers, and "corriente" or normal service. Bus fares range, as of March 2008, from $1100 to $1250 (US$ 0.60-0.70 approx.)
Airports
Bogotá's principal airport is El Dorado International Airport, west of the city's downtown, at the end of Av. el Dorado. Due to its central location in Colombia and in Latin America, it is a natural hub for domestic and international airlines.
El Dorado is heavily congested, as it handles more passengers than its optimal capacity. Work on a major expansion of El Dorado airport started in September 2007. When completed, this will expand capacity from the current 8 million passengers a year to 16 million.
A secondary airport, Catam, serves as a base for Military and Police Aviation, also Guaymaral Airport, for private aviation activities.
Source: wikipedia.com
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