Humedal Juan Amarillo, Protected wetland in Suba, Colombia.
Humedal Juan Amarillo is a protected wetland between the Suba and Engativá districts in Bogotá, covering about 222 hectares of water and land. It serves as the city's largest protected water ecosystem and provides habitat for numerous animal and plant species.
The Muisca held their Flower Festival at this sacred lake, attended by the caciques of Bosa, Engativá, Cota, Funza and Suba. They built raised camellones ridges to manage water levels and for farming and fishing. By the late 16th century a hacienda stood to the south; in 1789 Juan Francisco Forero bought it at public auction, and the wetland took the hacienda's name, Juan Amarillo.
The name Tibabuyes comes from the Chibcha language and means 'land of farmers', reflecting agricultural practices that were once common in this region.
The wetland lies between the Suba and Engativá districts, bounded by Calle 80 and the Puente de Guadua to the west, Transversal 91 to the east, and crossed by Avenida Ciudad de Cali. Access is from the surrounding barrios such as Lisboa, Quirigua, Bachué and El Rincón. Water levels and floating plants change with the seasons, so the open water surface varies through the year.
Tibabuyes is the only wetland in Bogotá where swamp moss (Fontinalis bogotensis) has been recorded. Its water mirror is often covered by water hyacinth and elodea, both exotic plants that must be cleared regularly to keep open water.
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