Somondoco

Somondoco
Municipality and town
Bull fighting arena Somondoco
Flag
Location of the municipality and town of Somondoco in the Boyacá Department of Colombia
Country	Colombia
Department	Boyacá Department
Province	Eastern Boyacá Province
Founded	6 November 1537
Government
• Mayor	Edison Rolando Gaitán Roa (2020-2023)
Area
• Municipality and town	58.7 km2 (22.7 sq mi)
• Urban	2.4 km2 (0.93 sq mi)
Elevation	1,670 m (5,480 ft)
Population  (2015)
• Municipality and town	3,632
• Density	61.9/km2 (160/sq mi)
• Urban	795
Time zone	UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)
Website	Official website

Somondoco is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá. This town and larger municipal area are located in the Valle de Tenza. The Valle de Tenza is the ancient route connecting the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and the Llanos. The area is dotted with many such little towns all located at approximately the same altitude (1500–1700 meters). Somondoco borders Almeida in the east, Guayatá in the west, Guateque and Sutatenza in the north and the Cundinamarca municipality of Ubalá in the south.

The nearest larger town is Guateque which is about 30 minutes away by car. Several small companies in Somondoco produce handicrafts and collectables.

Etymology

Somondoco is derived from the Chibcha words So = stone, Mon = bath, Co = support. The village is named after cacique Somendoco or Sumindoco.

History

Somondoco is a very old center of population extending back into prehistory. The Muisca settled here due to the abundance of emeralds mined in the Andes mountains.

When the Spanish conquistadores led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada arrived, Somondoco was ruled by a cacique named Sumindoco. He was loyal to the zaque of Hunza. The date of foundation of Somondoco is November 6, 1537.

Economy

The main economical activities in Somondoco are emerald mining and agriculture; maize, tomatoes, sugar cane, beans, bananas and coffee are grown.

• 
  View of Somondoco

Further reading

• Branquet, Yannick; Laumonier, Bernard; Cheilletz, Alain; Giuliani, Gaston (1999), "Emeralds in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia: Two tectonic settings for one mineralization" (PDF), Geology, 27 (7): 597–600, Bibcode:1999Geo....27..597B, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1999)027<0597:EITECO>2.3.CO;2, retrieved 2017-01-05
• Giuliani, Gaston; Cheilletz, Alain; Arboleda, Carlos; Carrillo, Victor; Rueda, Félix; Baker, James H. (1995), "An evaporitic origin of the parent brines of Colombian emeralds: fluid inclusion and sulphur isotope evidence" (PDF), European Journal of Mineralogy, 7 (1): 151–165, Bibcode:1995EJMin...7..151G, doi:10.1127/ejm/7/1/0151, retrieved 2017-01-05
• Ortega Medina, Laura Milena (2007), Tipología y condiciones de formaciónde las manifestaciones del sector esmeraldífero "Peña Coscuez" (municipio San Pablo de Borbur, Boyacá) (MSc.) (PDF), Universidad Industrial de Santander, pp. 1–121, retrieved 2017-01-05
• Pignatelli, Isabella; Giuliani, Gaston; Ohnenstetter, Daniel; Agrosì, Giovanna; Mathieu, Sandrine; Morlot, Christophe; Branquet, Yannick (2015), "Colombian Trapiche Emeralds: Recent Advances in Understanding Their Formation", Gems & Gemology, LI: 222–259, doi:10.5741/GEMS.51.3.222