The Tunjuelo or Tunjuelito River is a river on the Bogotá savanna and a left tributary of the Bogotá River. The river, with a length of originates in the Sumapaz Páramo and flows northward through the Usme Synclinal to enter the Colombian capital Bogotá. There, the river is mostly canalised flowing westward into the Bogotá River. It is one of the three main rivers of the city, together with the Fucha and Juan Amarillo Rivers.
Etymology The names Tunjuelo and Tunjuelito ("little Tunjuelo") are derived from the Cerro de los Tunjos, also Los Tunjos Lake, named after the tunjos, the religious votive figurines of the indigenous language of the Muisca, who inhabited the Bogotá savanna before the Spanish conquest.Osorio Osorio, 2007, p.29
Description
The Tunjuelo River has a total length of and originates in the Sumapaz Páramo, in the southern part of Bogotá.Osorio Osorio, 2007, p.12 It flows through the southern part of the Colombian capital, south of the Fucha River, and has the largest drainage basin of the rivers of Bogotá. Entre ríos y quebradas Bogotá tiene 198 cuerpos de agua ¿Los conoce? The river flows through the Usme Synclinal, where the type localities of various geological formations (among others the Marichuela Formation) are situated. The Tunjuelo River forms the border between the localities Usme and Ciudad Bolivar and between the namesake locality Tunjuelito and Ciudad Bolívar. The Tunjuelo River is highly contaminated. Tunjuelo: olores ofensivos
Geology
The Tunjuelo River valley hosts the type localities of various geologic formations of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense.
Age Formation Lithologies Notes Pleistocene Tunjuelo Formation Conglomerates, sandstones, shales Early Pliocene Marichuela Formation Conglomerates Late Miocene Early Oligocene Usme Formation Shales, sandstones, conglomerates Late Eocene Regadera Formation Sandstones, conglomerates, shales Early Eocene Bogotá Formation Mudstones, shales, siltstones, sandstones Late Paleocene
Wetlands
Three of the fifteen protected wetlands of Bogotá are located in the Tunjuelo River basin. Wetland Location Altitude (m) Area (ha) Notes La Vaca Kennedy 2548 7.96 La Isla Bosa 2550 7.7 Tibanica BosaSoacha 2542 28.8
Gallery
See also
List of rivers of Colombia Eastern Hills, Bogotá Bogotá savanna, Sumapaz Páramo Fucha River, Juan Amarillo River
References
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
Sistema Hídrico, Bogotá