Suárez River
| Suárez River Guane: Saravita | |
|---|---|
Suárez River close to Barbosa | |
Location of the Suárez River in Colombia | |
| Etymology | Gonzalo Suárez Rendón |
| Native name | Río Suárez (Spanish) |
| Location | |
| Country | Colombia |
| Department | Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Santander |
| Provinces | Ubaté, Western Boyacá, Ricaurte, Vélez, Comunera, Guanentá |
| Municipalities | Fúquene, San Miguel de Sema, Chiquinquirá, Saboyá, Puente Nacional, Barbosa, Moniquirá, Güepsa, San José de Pare, Santana, San Benito, Suaita, El Guacamayo, Guadalupe, Contratación, Chima, Guapotá, Palmas del Socorro, Socorro, Simacota, San Gil, Palmar, Cabrera, Barichara, Galán, Zapatoca, Villanueva |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Lake Fúquene |
| • location | Fúquene |
| • coordinates | 5°29′11.9″N 73°46′07.8″W / 5.486639°N 73.768833°W |
| • elevation | 2,537.72 m (8,325.9 ft) |
| Mouth | Sogamoso River |
• location | Villanueva |
• coordinates | 6°46′06.7″N 73°11′54.9″W / 6.768528°N 73.198583°W |
• elevation | 700 m (2,300 ft) |
| Length | 172 km (107 mi) |
| Basin size | 98,230 km2 (37,930 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Saboyá |
| • average | 8 m3/s (280 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 1 m3/s (35 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 12 m3/s (420 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Sogamoso River Magdalena Basin Caribbean Sea |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Susa, Simijaca, Chiquinquirá |
| • right | Lenguazaque, Q. Aguaclara, Moniquirá, Ubasa, Fonce |
| Waterbodies | Lake Fúquene |
The Suárez River, originally Saravita, is a river in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The river originates in Lake Fúquene on the border of Cundinamarca and Boyacá and its mouth is the confluence with the Chicamocha River, forming the Sogamoso River in Santander. It is part of the Magdalena Basin flowing towards the Caribbean Sea.
The 172 kilometres (107 mi) long river is one of the longest on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and forms the natural borders of Cundinamarca and Boyacá and Boyacá and Santander in its upstream and downstream part respectively. The river formed the trajectory for the Spanish conquest of the Muisca, when the conquistadors went uphill into the Andes from the tropical lowlands of Barrancabermeja in the north. The difference in altitude along the river course, from 2,538 metres (8,327 ft) at the source to 700 metres (2,300 ft) at its mouth, in its 98,230 square kilometres (37,930 sq mi) large basin causes climatic variations, especially with respect to precipitation. The frequent floodings of the river have given the Suárez River its name; conquistador Gonzalo Suárez Rendón tried to cross the river in one of his conquest expeditions, but the sudden flooding made his horse drown in the Suárez River.