Bogota, under Spanish rule Santa fe de Bogota, in South America, the federal capital of the United States of Colombia. It is on a tableland 400 sq. m. in area, and 8694 feet above the sea, which separates the basin of the Magdalena from that of the Orinoco, is bounded on all sides by mountains, lofty enough to give shelter, yet below the line of perpetual snow. This extensive plain - a temperate zone on the verge of the equator, with a salubrious climate and a mean temperature of 60° F. - is exceedingly fertile, being as rich in pasture as in grain. The greater number of its people, however, are sunk in poverty. This is largely due to the difficulty of transport. Bogota is 65 miles from its port, Honda, the head of navigation on the Magdalena; and from this point goods must be conveyed over the mountains in packages of not more than 125 lb. The few manufactures 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 vice-royalty of New Granada; since 1554 it has been the seat of an archbishop. It is regularly and handsomely built, teems with churches, and has likewise an unfinished capitol, a mint, a university, etc. Pop. (1800) 21,464; (1897) 100,000. - The river Bogota, otherwise called the Funcha, is the single outlet of the waters of the tableland, having found a passage for itself towards the Magdalena. At the cataract of Tequendama the waters plunge over a precipice 625 feet high.