Lake Guatavita

<h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2>
<p>The name of the lake is derived from <a href="/facts/Chibcha_language/qhV37b50">Chibcha</a>, the language of the Muisca: <i>gwa</i>: mountain or <i>gwata</i>, <i>gwate</i>: high elevation, or <i>gwatibita</i>: high mountain peak; hence, a pool at a high mountain peak.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Another meaning is "End of the farmfields".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>
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<h2 id="muisca-mythology">Muisca mythology</h2>
<p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/El_Dorado/7wlLFUuM">El Dorado</a></p>
<p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/Muisca_mythology/RRqLq4vw">Muisca mythology</a></p>
<p>Lake Guatavita was reputedly one of the <a href="/facts/Muisca_mythology/RRqLq4vw">sacred lakes of the Muisca</a>, and a ritual conducted there is widely thought to be the basis for the legend of <i><a href="/facts/El_Dorado/7wlLFUuM">El Dorado</a></i>, "the golden one". The legend says the lake is where the Muisca celebrated a ritual in which the <i><a href="/facts/Zipa/zNooQx7A">zipa</a></i> (named "El Dorado" by the <a href="/facts/List_of_conquistadors_in_Colombia/CmR3Nj32">conquistadors</a>) was covered in <a href="/facts/Gold/1znknojp">gold dust</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/El_Dorado/7wlLFUuM">Lake Guatavita gold</a>) have yielded no more than these.
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<h2 id="in-pop-culture">In pop culture</h2>
<ul><li>Lake Guatavita is the filming location of the <a href="/facts/Music_video/FccodeNC">music video</a> of the song <i><a href="/facts/No_Te_Pido_Flores/dRNEtQJx">No Te Pido Flores</a></i> by <a href="/facts/Fanny_L%25C3%25BA/E4TLgTsW">Fanny Lú</a>.</li></ul>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Muisca_religion/bhWYJ83v">Muisca religion</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Women_in_Muisca_society/0FT9nxSa">Guatavita myth</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Lake_Iguaque/Vf8X5178">Lake Iguaque</a>, another sacred lake of the Muisca</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Sacred_waters/YYbdWgT6">Sacred waters</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Siecha_Lakes/oNtrJu99">Siecha Lakes</a>, other lakes implicated in the El Dorado legend</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Tomin%25C3%25A9_Reservoir/ISMrnp2Q">Tominé Reservoir</a>, which buried the old town of Guatavita</li>
<li><i><a href="/facts/Tunjo/pmYFHBQ4">Tunjo</a></i>, offer pieces in Lake Guatavita</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Gold_Museum%2c_Bogot%25C3%25A1/UchVDTox">Gold Museum, Bogotá</a>, where archaeological objects from the lake are displayed</li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li> Media related to Laguna de Guatavita at Wikimedia Commons</li>
<li>(in Spanish) <a href="http://www.colparques.net/LGUATAVITA">Lake Guatavita</a> - Colparques</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>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. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>M. Louis Ghisletti, Los Mwiskas, Bogota, 1954 <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>(in Spanish) Official website Guatavita Archived 2016-01-30 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.guatavita-cundinamarca.gov.co/index.shtml#3" target="_blank">http://www.guatavita-cundinamarca.gov.co/index.shtml#3</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Lake Guatavita open-in-new

Lake Guatavita