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Boyacá is one of the remnant original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".
Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains, spanning the Eastern Cordillera to the the Venezuelan border. The western end of the department however, extends to the Magdalena River at the town of Puerto Boyacá. Boyacá shares a border in the north with Santander, to the northeast with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Norte de Santander Department, to the east with the Departments of Arauca and Casanare, and to the South with Boyacá borders with the Department of Cundinamarca and to the west with the Department of Antioquia covering a total area of 23,102 km² (8,880 sq mi). The capital of Boyacá is the city of Tunja.
Boyacá is known as "The Land of Freedom" because this region was the scene of a series of battles which led to Colombia's independence from Spain. The first one took place on July 20, 1810 in the Pantano de Vargas and the final and decisive battle known as the Battle of Boyacá was fought on August 7, 1819 at Puente de Boyacá.
Boyacá is home to three universities: the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (UPTC), the Universidad de Boyacá (UNIBOYACA), and the Universidad Santo Tomás.
The territory of present day Boyaca in Pre Columbian time was populated by the Muiscas indigenous peoples.
The first European to discover the area was Spanish Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who conquered and distributed the land and forced the indigenous people to work for him.
In 1539, Gonzalo Suárez Rendón a Spanish colonist founded the village of Tunja and others on sites where the indigenous previously had their villages. The village of Tunja became one of the main political and economic centers for the Spanish during the Viceroyalty of New Granada.
During the 19th Century Boyaca was a battleground for numerous confrontations between the Spanish Royalist and Simon Bolivar's Army during the Spanish colonies War of Independence from Spain. Two of the most decisive battles were the Battle of Boyacá and the Battle of the Vargas Marsh (1819) won by the Patriots against the Spanish Royalists.
The department of Boyaca covers a small portion of the Middle Magdalena valley of the Magdalena River to the west, the Cordillera Oriental mountain range with altitudes of 5,380 m over sea level (Sierra Nevada del Cocuy with 25 snow peaks), flat highlands plateau and another small portion of territory by the eastern Llanos plains. Among its most prominent geographical accidents are the Range of the Zorro, Serrania de las Quinchas and the Andean plateaus of Rusia, Guantiva, Pisba, Chontales and Rechiniga.
The tableland of Boyaca which is shared with the department of Cundinamarca is called the Cundiboyasense tableland (Spanish: Meseta Cundiboyasense). It is densely populated with numerous valleys. Many rivers originate in this area, the most important are the Chicamocha River and Arauca River which are contributors to other important rivers such as the Magdalena and Meta.
Boyacá also has numerous lakes which include Lake Tota, Lake Sochagota, Lake Fúquene which is shared with the department of Cundinamarca, the Chivor Reservoir and others.
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