BOGOTA, under Spanish rule Santa Fe de Bogota, in South America, the fed eral capital of the United States of Co lombia. It is situated within the limits of the province of Cundinamarca, on a tableland which, at an elevation of 8,694 feet above the sea, separates the basin of the Magdalena from that of the Orinoco. The tableland has an area of about 400 square miles, and is bounded on all sides by mountains. This exten sive plain is very fertile and rich in pasture as in grain. Bogota is 65 miles from its port, Honda, the head of naviga tion on the Magdalena. The modern city is well laid out, and has several handsome parks. There are theaters, the National university, a magnificent cathedral, a large and well-equipped library and museum, and other public buildings. The city ranks among the foremost in South America for culture and education. The school system is ex cellent, and there are about 15,000 pupils in public and private schools. The manu
factures of the place include soap, leather, cloth, and articles made from the precious metals. Bogota was founded in 1538, and in 1598 became the capital of the Spanish Vic"-Royalty of New Granada; since 1554 it has been the seat of an archbishop. There is rail connec tion with other important cities. Pop. (1917) 139,287. The river Bogota, otherwise called the Funcha, is the single outlet of the waters of the table land, which, both from geological fea tures and from aboriginal traditions, ap pears to have once been a land-locked basin. At the cataract of Tequendama the waters plunge over a precipice 700 feet high, their force having hollowed out a well 130 feet deep in the rock be low. Some miles from the fall stands the natural bridge of Icononzo, and the plateau also contains a lake, Guatavita.