Zapatoca | |
---|---|
Municipality and town | |
Nickname: Ciudad Levitica (Levitical City | |
Motto(s): Libertad y Orden (Liberty and Order) | |
Country | Colombia |
Department | Santander Department |
Area | |
• Total | 360 km2 (139 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,720 m (5,500 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 8,929 |
Time zone | UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time) |
Website | www.zapatoca-santander.gov.co |
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 data for Zapatoca (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.64 (74.55) |
24.22 (75.60) |
24.06 (75.31) |
23.67 (74.61) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.59 (74.46) |
23.71 (74.68) |
23.99 (75.18) |
23.75 (74.75) |
23.14 (73.65) |
22.73 (72.91) |
23.12 (73.62) |
23.6 (74.5) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 18.76 (65.77) |
19.1 (66.4) |
19.13 (66.43) |
19.18 (66.52) |
19.23 (66.61) |
19.18 (66.52) |
19.04 (66.27) |
19.13 (66.43) |
19.08 (66.34) |
18.69 (65.64) |
18.54 (65.37) |
18.63 (65.53) |
18.97 (66.15) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.66 (56.59) |
14.05 (57.29) |
14.31 (57.76) |
14.66 (58.39) |
14.72 (58.50) |
14.37 (57.87) |
13.94 (57.09) |
13.99 (57.18) |
14.05 (57.29) |
14.13 (57.43) |
14.38 (57.88) |
14.0 (57.2) |
14.19 (57.54) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 24.36 (0.96) |
32.53 (1.28) |
88.74 (3.49) |
116.0 (4.57) |
153.79 (6.05) |
101.38 (3.99) |
90.13 (3.55) |
107.21 (4.22) |
157.15 (6.19) |
160.88 (6.33) |
131.06 (5.16) |
49.4 (1.94) |
1,212.63 (47.74) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 3.64 | 5.05 | 9.26 | 12.92 | 15.51 | 11.39 | 11.09 | 12.84 | 14.29 | 15.55 | 12.86 | 6.17 | 130.58 |
Source: NOAA[1] |
Fossils of Early Cretaceous animals from the Valanginian-Hauterivian Rosablanca Formation were collected near Zapatoca.[2] Fossil material include fishes, particularly pycnodonts and hybodontiform Strophodus, ichthyosaurs, elasmosaurids.[2] Remains of turtles,[2] including Notoemys zapatocaensis,[3] possible ornithocheirid pterosaurs[4] and ammonite Saynoceras verrucosum[3][4] also known from this location. There is also a report about metriorhynchoid crocodylomorph from these deposits.[2] During the Valanginian and Hauterivian ages, here was a shallow sea where hybodontiforms and pycnodontiforms played an important trophic role as shell-crushing predators.[2]