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Muzo () is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is widely known as the world capital of emeralds for the mines containing the world's highest quality gems of this type. Muzo is situated at a distance of from the departmental capital Tunja and from the capital of the Western Boyacá Province, Chiquinquirá. The urban centre is at an altitude of above sea level. Muzo borders Otanche and San Pablo de Borbur in the north, Maripí and Coper in the east, Quípama in the west and the department of Cundinamarca in the south.

Key facts

Settlement.name
Muzo
Settlement.nickname
Emerald capital of the world
Settlement.other_name
Villa de la Santísima Trinidad de los Muzos
Settlement.etymology
Muzo
Settlement.settlement_type
Municipality and town
Settlement.image_skyline
Panorámica de Muzo, Boyacá.JPG
Settlement.image_caption
View of Muzo
Settlement.image_flag
Flag of Muzo (Boyacá).svg
Settlement.image_map
Colombia - Boyaca - Muzo.svg
Settlement.mapsize
250px
Settlement.map_caption
Location of the municipality and town of Muzo in the Boyacá Department of Colombia
Settlement.pushpin_map
Colombia
Settlement.pushpin_mapsize
300
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption
Location in Colombia
Settlement.subdivision_type
Country
Settlement.subdivision_type1
Department
Settlement.subdivision_name1
Boyacá Department
Settlement.subdivision_type2
Province

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Country
Colombia
Population
8548
Area
147
Elevation
740
Image
Muzo, Colombia (aerial view).jpg
Show 3 more facts
language of work or name
Cariban
Commons category
Muzo
inception
1559-01-01
Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

12 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • Climate
  • History
  • Spanish conquest
  • Colonial period
  • Economy
  • Emerald mining
  • Gallery
  • See also
  • References
  • Bibliography
  • External links

Muzo () is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is widely known as the world capital of emeralds for the mines containing the world's highest quality gems of this type. Muzo is situated at a distance of from the departmental capital Tunja and from the capital of the Western Boyacá Province, Chiquinquirá. The urban centre is at an altitude of above sea level. Muzo borders Otanche and San Pablo de Borbur in the north, Maripí and Coper in the east, Quípama in the west and the department of Cundinamarca in the south.

== Etymology == The town of Muzo was called Villa de la Santísima Trinidad de los Muzos, or simply Trinidad, when the Spanish conquistadors first founded the settlement in western Boyacá. Muzo is the autonym of the Muzo, the indigenous people who inhabited the region before the Spanish conquest.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Muzo” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

On the map

2 mapped locations