Bucaramanga
| Bucaramanga | |||
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| City | |||
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| Nickname(s): "The Pretty City", "City of Parks" | |||
| Motto: Montani semper liberi | |||
 Location of the city and municipality of Bucaramanga in the Santander Department. |
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 Bucaramanga
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| Coordinates: 7°8′N 73°0′W / 7.133°N 73.000°WCoordinates: 7°8′N 73°0′W / 7.133°N 73.000°W | |||
| Country |
 Colombia
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| Region | Andean Region | ||
| Department | Santander | ||
| Foundation | December 22, 1622 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Rodolfo Hernández Suárez (Movimiento Lógica Ética y Estética) | ||
| Area | |||
| • City | 165 km2 (64 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 959 m (3,146 ft) | ||
| Population | |||
| • City | 1.024.229 | ||
| • Density | 6,207,44/km2 (1,607,720/sq mi) | ||
| • Metro | 1,212,657 | ||
| Demonym(s) | Bumangués | ||
| Time zone | Eastern Time Zone (UTC-05) | ||
| Postal code | 680001-680011 | ||
| Area code(s) | 57 + 7 | ||
| Website | Official website (Spanish) | ||
Bucaramanga is the capital city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate, the highest GINI index, and has the eighth largest population in the country, with 530,900 people. Bucaramanga has over 160 parks scattered throughout the city and has been given the nickname "La Ciudad de Los Parques" ("The City of Parks") and "La Ciudad Bonita de Colombia" ("Colombia's Beautiful City").
Bucaramanga has grown rapidly since the 1960s, mostly into neighboring locations within the metropolitan area. Floridablanca, Girón and Piedecuesta are inextricably linked geographically and commercially with Bucaramanga, and now all form together the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area in Colombia with 1,276,329 inhabitants.
The city is the base of the Colombian Petroleum Institute (ICP), the research branch of the state oil company Ecopetrol and the Colombian Natural Gas Company (Ecogas).
Girón was the first and most significant town founded by Spanish colonizers in the region, and Bucaramanga (founded on December 22, 1622) did not overtake Girón in population or economic significance until the early 19th century. In the 1860s and 1870s the city attracted a core of German merchants and adventurers (the most famous of whom was Geo von Lengerke) and tensions between the newcomers and local merchants flared in 1879 when the event named "La Culebra Pico de Oro" (The snake of gold beak)occurred. With the political reorganization of 1886 Bucaramanga replaced Socorro as departmental capital. The region (although not the city itself) was devastated by the civil war of 1899-1902 - commonly known as the Thousand Days War causing Bucaramanga to grow modestly in the first half of the 20th century.
Bucaramanga is located on a plateau in the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes, and many residents occupy unstable lands descending steeply from the meseta. Westbound of it, the Rio de Oro Canyon is located at an altitude of 600 meters (2,000 ft) AMSL. Eastbound, the Andean Range rises up in high peaks, reaching almost 3,700m AMSL in the place locally known as "Paramo de Berlin" The city is located at 7°08′N 73°08′W / 7.133°N 73.133°W. The official metropolitan area includes the municipalities of: Girón, Piedecuesta and Floridablanca, but Lebrija is home to Bucaramanga's airport and is commonly considered part of greater Bucaramanga. All four neighboring municipalities contain extensive rural areas despite recent urbanization.
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