Boyaca

Boyaca, a state of Colombia, bordering on Venezuela, area 33,351 square miles. It is crossed in the north-west by the Eastern Cordilleras, but the east is fertile prairie watered by the Meta, the Guaviar, and other tributaries of the Orinoco. The state derives its name from a victory gained by Bolivar over the Spaniards in 1819, at the village of Boyaca, close to Tunja, the capital. The state produces fine emeralds, and there are coal, copper ore, iron, plumbago, and salt springs.