Zapatoca | |
|---|---|
Municipality and town | |
 | |
| Nickname: Ciudad Levitica (Levitical City) | |
| Motto: Libertad y Orden (Liberty and Order) | |
 Location of the municipality and town of Zapatoca in the Santander Department of Colombia | |
| Country |  Colombia |
| Department | Santander Department |
| Established | 1682 |
| Area | |
• Total | 360 km2 (140 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,720 m (5,640 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 8,929 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time) |
| Website | www.zapatoca-santander.gov.co |
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Zapatoca (Spanish pronunciation: [sapaˈtoka]) is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. It is at a high altitude and is a common stop between Bucaramanga and San Gil. It was built in the early 17th century by the Spanish conquistadores.
Climate
| Climate data for Zapatoca, elevation 1,810 m (5,940 ft), (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.5 (74.3) |
23.9 (75.0) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.7 (74.7) |
23.5 (74.3) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.4 (74.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 18.6 (65.5) |
18.8 (65.8) |
18.9 (66.0) |
19.0 (66.2) |
19.0 (66.2) |
18.9 (66.0) |
18.8 (65.8) |
18.9 (66.0) |
18.8 (65.8) |
18.4 (65.1) |
18.4 (65.1) |
18.4 (65.1) |
18.7 (65.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) |
14.1 (57.4) |
14.4 (57.9) |
14.7 (58.5) |
14.8 (58.6) |
14.5 (58.1) |
14.1 (57.4) |
14.1 (57.4) |
14.1 (57.4) |
14.2 (57.6) |
14.3 (57.7) |
14.0 (57.2) |
14.3 (57.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 30.9 (1.22) |
38.6 (1.52) |
74.5 (2.93) |
129.0 (5.08) |
162.0 (6.38) |
109.0 (4.29) |
100.0 (3.94) |
119.4 (4.70) |
157.1 (6.19) |
175.3 (6.90) |
111.4 (4.39) |
48.9 (1.93) |
1,256.1 (49.45) |
| Average precipitation days | 7 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 9 | 169 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 86 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 87 | 87 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 87 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 201.5 | 169.4 | 167.4 | 135.0 | 142.6 | 117.0 | 173.6 | 182.9 | 162.0 | 145.7 | 144.0 | 176.7 | 1,917.8 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 6.5 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 5.3 |
| Source: Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales[1] | |||||||||||||
Notable people
- Miguel Acuña (1788-1847), Franciscan priest and medical practitioner
- José de Jesús Pimiento Rodríguez (1919 - 2019 in Floridablanca) was a Prelate of the Catholic Church. Until his death the age of 100 he was the oldest living cardinal.
- Carlos Toledo Plata (1932 - 1984 in Bucaramanga) was a doctor, politician and co-founder and early leader of the guerrilla movement known as M-19.
Points of interest
Iglesia de San Joaquín, the main parish church of Zapatoca, Santander, Colombia. Founded in 1743, the stone-built church features twin towers and serves as a central place of worship under the Diocese of Socorro y San Gil.
Zapatoca is near several natural attractions, including la Cueva del Nitro, a limestone cave system located approximately 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the town. The cave, formed by karst processes in Early Cretaceous rock, features extensive mineral formations such as stalactites and stalagmites, and is accessed via guided tours.
In January 2026, Zapatoca is scheduled to host the 42nd Ferias y Fiestas de la Cordialidad y el Retorno, an annual cultural festival traditionally held to welcome returning residents and visitors. The event is planned to take place from 9 to 12 January 2026. [2]
Paleontology
Fossils of Early Cretaceous animals from the Valanginian-Hauterivian Rosablanca Formation were collected near Zapatoca.[3] Fossil material include fishes, particularly pycnodonts and hybodontiform Strophodus, ichthyosaurs, elasmosaurids.[3] Remains of turtles,[3] including Notoemys zapatocaensis,[4] possible ornithocheirid pterosaurs[5] and ammonite Saynoceras verrucosum[4][5] also known from this location. There is also a report about metriorhynchoid crocodylomorph from these deposits.[3] During the Valanginian and Hauterivian ages, here was a shallow sea where hybodontiforms and pycnodontiforms played an important trophic role as shell-crushing predators.[3]
References
- ^ "Promedios Climatológicos 1981–2010" (in Spanish). Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/alcaldiazap/
- ^ a b c d e Carrillo-Briceño, Jorge D.; Cadena, Edwin-Alberto (2022-06-02). "A new hybodontiform shark (Strophodus Agassiz 1838) from the Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian-Hauterivian) of Colombia". PeerJ. 10 e13496. doi:10.7717/peerj.13496. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 9167585. PMID 35673391.
- ^ a b Edwin Cadena (2020). "Valanginian occurrence of Pelomedusoides turtles in northern South America: revision of this hypothesis based on a new fossil remain". PeerJ. 8 (e9810): 1–12. doi:10.7717/peerj.9810. PMC 7450993. PMID 32904119.
- ^ a b Edwin Cadena, David M. Unwin, David M. Martill (2020). "Lower Cretaceous pterosaurs from Colombia". Cretaceous Research. 114 (3). Bibcode:2020CrRes.11404526C. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104526. S2CID 224886977.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6°49′N 73°16′W / 6.817°N 73.267°W / 6.817; -73.267
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