Desiertos de Colombia: Colombian Deserts

That's not all it means though: Tatacoa also refers to rattlesnakes! While most people believe that the Tatacoa is just a desert, on the contrary, it is, in fact, a tropical dry forest. Before the Spanish arrived, it was actually wetter, with thousands of flowers and trees! Over time, the Tatacoa Desert began drying up to look more like a desert.

To got to the Tatacoita Desert, you must travel a couple of hours north of Bogotá into the Boyacá region. Just north of a city called Nemocón, there is the valley near the Checua River. Head to the southern part of the valley and you'll arrive at the Tatacoita Desert! Like the Tatacoa Desert, the Tatacoita Desert is a region affected by erosion. Erosion is the gradual process of land being broken up by water or wind. After hundreds of years of erosion, a large canyon with lots of sand and rocks has been carved out into impressive mazes to explore. Be careful as you walk through! Long gullies (water-worn channels), deep crevices (holes in rocks), and spiky cactuses are everywhere. The colors of the sand and the soil are similar to those at the Tatacoa Desert. Unlike the Tatacoa Desert, large rock walls can be found around every corner.

Like the Tatacoa Desert, the Tatacoita is an area with lots of fossils and where many archaeological remains have been found. While the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá tend to be chilly and breezy, the Tatacoita offers a contrasting landscape of the arid highlands.

What parts of this environment help people to live here?:

While most people who live in nearby areas choose not to live in the two deserts, there are aspects of the environments that help people live. These aspects also draw many tourists to visit.

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