Torca River


The Torca River is a river on the Bogotá savanna and a left tributary of the Bogotá River. The river, in a basin of, originates in the Eastern Hills of Bogotá at an altitude of. It flows in the north of the Colombian capital, through the locality of Usaquén and into the Bogotá River in Suba at the border with Chía, at above sea level. The Torca wetland is located near its mouth.

Description

The Torca River originates in the Eastern Hills, in the locality of Usaquén in the north of the Colombian capital. The river enters the urban area of the city near the Bosques de Pinos complex at Carrera 6 with Calle 153. The basin of the Torca River has an area of and along the principal axis the basin extends for. Part of its course is channelised, called El Cedro and Torca channel. The Torca River flows into the Bogotá River near the Torca wetland at the border of Bogotá and Chía. The Autopista Norte crosses the Torca River basin. The river has a high level of contamination.

Wetland

The wetland of Torca is located in the Torca River basin. Amphibians registered in Torca are among others the green dotted treefrog and the cream-backed poison frog. In Torca, 24 bird species have been registered, among others the cattle egret, Bogotá rail, common moorhen, noble snipe, solitary sandpiper, grassland yellow finch and the endemic species to Colombia, yellow-hooded blackbird. The flora species Carex lanuginosa was a new discovery in the Torca wetland.