The zipa used to cover his body in gold dust, and from his raft, he offered treasures to the Guatavita goddess in the middle of the sacred lake. This Muisca tradition became the origin of the legend of El Dorado. Muisca raft in the Gold Museum, Bogotá, Colombia
Votive objects found at the bottom of Lake Guatavita in the British Museum.[4]
The lake is circular and has a surface area of 19.8 hectares. The earlier theories of the crater's origin being a meteorite impact, volcanic cinder, or limestone sinkhole are now discredited. The most likely explanation is that it resulted from the dissolution of underground salt deposits from an anticline,[3] resulting in a kind of sinkhole.
There are hot springs nearby in the municipality of Sesquilé, which means "hot water" in the now-extinct language of Chibcha, once spoken by the local indigenous people, the Muisca.
Spanish colonizers and Conquistadors knew about the existence of a sacred lake in the Eastern Ranges of the Andes possibly as early as 1531. The lake was associated with indigenous rituals involving gold. However, the first conquistador to arrive at the actual location was Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, possibly in June 1537, while on an expedition to the highlands of the Eastern Ranges of the Andes in search of gold. This brought the Spanish into first contact with the Muisca inhabiting the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, including around Lake Guatavita.
The lake is now a focus of ecotourism, and its association with the legend of El Dorado is also a major attraction.
The name of the lake is derived from Chibcha, the language of the Muisca: gwa: mountain or gwata, gwate: high elevation, or gwatibita: high mountain peak; hence, a pool at a high mountain peak.[5] Another meaning is "End of the farmfields".[6]
Lake Guatavita was reputedly one of the sacred lakes of the Muisca, and a ritual conducted there is widely thought to be the basis for the legend of El Dorado, "the golden one". The legend says the lake is where the Muisca celebrated a ritual in which the zipa (named "El Dorado" by the conquistadors) was covered in gold dust, and then, venturing out into the water on a ceremonial raft made of rushes, dove into the waters, washing off the gold. Afterward, trinkets, jewelry, and other precious offerings were thrown into the waters by worshipers. A few artifacts of gold and silver found at bottom hold proof to this claim; however, to date, attempts to drain the lake or salvage the gold (see Lake Guatavita gold) have yielded no more than these.
^(in Spanish) Official website Guatavita 2016-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
External links
Media related to Laguna de Guatavita at Wikimedia Commons
(in Spanish) Lake Guatavita - Colparques
May 04, 2023
lake, guatavita, this, article, about, lake, town, guatavita, spanish, laguna, guatavita, located, cordillera, oriental, colombian, andes, municipality, sesquilé, almeidas, province, cundinamarca, department, colombia, northeast, bogotá, capital, colombia, lag. This article is about a lake For the town see Guatavita Lake Guatavita Spanish Laguna Guatavita is located in the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes in the municipality of Sesquile in the Almeidas Province Cundinamarca department of Colombia 57 km 35 mi northeast of Bogota the capital of Colombia Laguna GuatavitaLaguna GuatavitaLocationSesquile Cundinamarca ColombiaCoordinates4 58 39 4 N 73 46 30 0 W 4 977611 N 73 775000 W 4 977611 73 775000Max length700 metres 2 300 ft Max width700 metres 2 300 ft Surface area19 8 ha 49 acres Max depth125 metres 410 ft Surface elevation3 000 m 9 800 ft References 1 2 3 The zipa used to cover his body in gold dust and from his raft he offered treasures to the Guatavita goddess in the middle of the sacred lake This Muisca tradition became the origin of the legend of El Dorado Muisca raft in the Gold Museum Bogota Colombia Votive objects found at the bottom of Lake Guatavita in the British Museum 4 The lake is circular and has a surface area of 19 8 hectares The earlier theories of the crater s origin being a meteorite impact volcanic cinder or limestone sinkhole are now discredited The most likely explanation is that it resulted from the dissolution of underground salt deposits from an anticline 3 resulting in a kind of sinkhole There are hot springs nearby in the municipality of Sesquile which means hot water in the now extinct language of Chibcha once spoken by the local indigenous people the Muisca Spanish colonizers and Conquistadors knew about the existence of a sacred lake in the Eastern Ranges of the Andes possibly as early as 1531 The lake was associated with indigenous rituals involving gold However the first conquistador to arrive at the actual location was Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada possibly in June 1537 while on an expedition to the highlands of the Eastern Ranges of the Andes in search of gold This brought the Spanish into first contact with the Muisca inhabiting the Altiplano Cundiboyacense including around Lake Guatavita The lake is now a focus of ecotourism and its association with the legend of El Dorado is also a major attraction Contents 1 Etymology 2 Muisca mythology 3 Trivia 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEtymology EditThe name of the lake is derived from Chibcha the language of the Muisca gwa mountain or gwata gwate high elevation or gwatibita high mountain peak hence a pool at a high mountain peak 5 Another meaning is End of the farmfields 6 Muisca mythology EditMain article El Dorado See also Muisca mythology Lake Guatavita was reputedly one of the sacred lakes of the Muisca and a ritual conducted there is widely thought to be the basis for the legend of El Dorado the golden one The legend says the lake is where the Muisca celebrated a ritual in which the zipa named El Dorado by the conquistadors was covered in gold dust and then venturing out into the water on a ceremonial raft made of rushes dove into the waters washing off the gold Afterward trinkets jewelry and other precious offerings were thrown into the waters by worshipers A few artifacts of gold and silver found at bottom hold proof to this claim however to date attempts to drain the lake or salvage the gold see Lake Guatavita gold have yielded no more than these Trivia EditLake Guatavita is the filming location of the music video of the song No Te Pido Flores by Fanny LuSee also EditMuisca religion Guatavita myth Lake Iguaque another sacred lake of the Muisca Siecha Lakes other lakes implicated in the El Dorado legend Tomine Reservoir which buried the old town of Guatavita Tunjo offer pieces in Lake Guatavita Gold Museum Bogota where archaeological objects from the lake are displayedReferences Edit in Spanish Google Maps Area Calculator in Spanish Google Maps Elevation Finder a b Dietz R S McHone J F 1972 Laguna Guatavita Not Meteoritic Probably Salt Collapse Crater Meteoritics 7 3 303 Bibcode 1972Metic 7 303D doi 10 1111 j 1945 5100 1972 tb00444 x British Museum Collection M Louis Ghisletti Los Mwiskas Bogota 1954 in Spanish Official website Guatavita Archived 2016 01 30 at the Wayback MachineExternal links Edit Media related to Laguna de Guatavita at Wikimedia Commons in Spanish Lake Guatavita Colparques Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lake Guatavita amp oldid 1148615314, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
