Nechi River
Encyclopedia
Nechí River is a river of northwestern Colombia
. It flows into the Cauca River
. Nechí River rises in the municipality of Yarumal
, and serves as a boundary between the municipalities of Antioquia, Campamento
, Angostura
, Anorí
, Yarumal
, Valdivia
, Tarazá
, Cáceres
, Zaragoza
, El Bagre
, Caucasia and Nechí
. Significant gold deposits have been found in the area.
is a municipality situated where the Nechi river breaks through the Andes. The weather is torrid and the humidity very high, even in the dry season when tthe temperature ranges between 75 and 95 F.
Mining properties of the area lie in an oval basin surrounded by crystalline rocks. This basin has been cut through by the Nechi river, which separates the properties. Within this basin are flat tables of gravel deposits whose edges form terraces. The bedrock of each of these gravel benches is clay, either red or blue according to exposure, in which are included beds of peat or brown coal. Each of these gravel benches is a re-concentration of the bench above it, and represents a former stationary level of the river. California Hill is a remnant of the upper bench. Below this was a lower bench whose bedrock stood above water-level. These two benches have been nearly removed by erosion and ancient workings. The third bench, partly submerged, forms the greater portion of the higher dredging ground. The fourth bench is that being dredged now and is nearly submerged. The outer and higher bench gravel is on the clay which lies directly upon the rim rock, but toward the centre of the basin, where there are lower layers of gravel, is assumed to be bedrock. The gold here is of fairly uniform sized thin flakes. There is very little black sand.
The Mapuri tract on the Nechi River, a few miles below Zaragoza, was exploited by the Colombia Gold Mines Corporation. One publication in 1909 reported, "The district of Zaragosa, on the Nechi River, paid to the Spanish Crown the sum of $1200000 in gold, this district having produced in nineteen years of Spanish occupation the sum of $6000000 in gold." Platinum
was saved by dredges on Nechi River in 1922. In November 1986, a terrorist group bombed a dredge in the river, forcing the temporary cessation to gold production in the area.
in Chicago
was the recipient of a rare collection of gold ornaments, excavated from the basin of the Nechi River in 1918. The donor was the Wrigley Company. Miners who excavated the treasure turned it over to an agent of the company in Colombia. Wrigley, a member of the Board of Trustees, turned it over to the museum. The collection consists of breast-plates, aprons, elaborate earrings, bells and neck, laces, all in pure gold, forming the most valuable collection in the world of art of Colombia's ancient dwellers. In 1996, 29 archaeological sites, including Brisas Palagua, La Suiza, La Primavera, San Juan Bedout, Barcelona, El Amparo, Cano Regla, Palestina, Montenegro, and Tucuman, were found between the Nechí and Magdalena Rivers. Plano-convex scrapers and a projectile point were excavated.
and Mulatto
. Due to a process of population sifting into darker and lighter groups, the lowland mining areas around the Nechi River demonstrate a significantly blacker population than the highland areas. Most of the population is very poor. Their diet consists chiefly of river fish, rice, beans, plantains, meat and a great abundance of panela
.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. It flows into the Cauca River
Cauca River
The Cauca River is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. Born in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Pinillos in Bolívar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the Caribbean Sea. It has a...
. Nechí River rises in the municipality of Yarumal
Yarumal
Yarumal is a municipality in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. Yarumal was founded in 1787 as San Luis de Gongora. Municipal status was granted in 1821. The current name of Yarumal comes from a local plant belonging to the Moraceae family, known in botanical Latin as Cecropia peltata L...
, and serves as a boundary between the municipalities of Antioquia, Campamento
Campamento
Campamento is a municipality in the south west of the Honduran department of Olancho, south of Concordia and west of Juticalpa. The municipality of Campamento is located at the entrance to Olancho, along the main highway from Tegucigalpa...
, Angostura
Angostura
Angostura may refer toPlacesThe Spanish word Angostura means "narrows" and so often refers to a narrowing or crossing on a river.* Angostura, Sinaloa, a municipality in northwestern Mexico.* Villa La Angostura is a mountain town in Neuquén, Argentina....
, Anorí
Anorí
Anorí is a town and municipality in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. Part of the subregion of Northeastern Antioquia....
, Yarumal
Yarumal
Yarumal is a municipality in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. Yarumal was founded in 1787 as San Luis de Gongora. Municipal status was granted in 1821. The current name of Yarumal comes from a local plant belonging to the Moraceae family, known in botanical Latin as Cecropia peltata L...
, Valdivia
Valdivia
-Geography:*Chile** Valdivia, Chile, a city and municipality in the Province of Valdivia** Valdivia River, a river which begins in the city of Valdivia** Valdivia Province, the Province of Valdivia...
, Tarazá
Tarazá
Taraza is a town and municipality in the Bajo Cauca subregion of Antioquia Department, Colombia. It lies from the city of Medellín, the departmental capital, and has a land area of...
, Cáceres
Cáceres
- Places :* Cáceres in Spain** Cáceres which covers the province* Cáceres, Spain, the capital of Cáceres Province* Cáceres, Antioquia, municipality in Colombia...
, Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, El Bagre
El Bagre
El Bagre is a municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia....
, Caucasia and Nechí
Nechi
Nechi is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia....
. Significant gold deposits have been found in the area.
Etymology
Nechí in the Yamesí language takes its name from Ne which means "gold", and Chi which means "river". This is because there are significant mineral reserves in the area, including gold.Geography
The river is situated about 7 degrees north of the equator. The Porce River, is a south tributary of the Nechi. AngosturaAngostura, Antioquia
Angostura is a town and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia. Part of the subregion of Northern Antioquia....
is a municipality situated where the Nechi river breaks through the Andes. The weather is torrid and the humidity very high, even in the dry season when tthe temperature ranges between 75 and 95 F.
Mining properties of the area lie in an oval basin surrounded by crystalline rocks. This basin has been cut through by the Nechi river, which separates the properties. Within this basin are flat tables of gravel deposits whose edges form terraces. The bedrock of each of these gravel benches is clay, either red or blue according to exposure, in which are included beds of peat or brown coal. Each of these gravel benches is a re-concentration of the bench above it, and represents a former stationary level of the river. California Hill is a remnant of the upper bench. Below this was a lower bench whose bedrock stood above water-level. These two benches have been nearly removed by erosion and ancient workings. The third bench, partly submerged, forms the greater portion of the higher dredging ground. The fourth bench is that being dredged now and is nearly submerged. The outer and higher bench gravel is on the clay which lies directly upon the rim rock, but toward the centre of the basin, where there are lower layers of gravel, is assumed to be bedrock. The gold here is of fairly uniform sized thin flakes. There is very little black sand.
Mining
Dredging began on the Nechí sometime before 1900. Several companies originally operated dredges on the Nechi, but these were gradually taken over by Pato Consolidated Gold Dredging, Ltd., a Canadian company, which was one of the largest placer mining concerns in the world at the time. By 1964, 67 percent of Pato's stock was owned by the International Mining Corp with seven Pato dredges operating on the Nechí downstream from Zaragoza.The Mapuri tract on the Nechi River, a few miles below Zaragoza, was exploited by the Colombia Gold Mines Corporation. One publication in 1909 reported, "The district of Zaragosa, on the Nechi River, paid to the Spanish Crown the sum of $1200000 in gold, this district having produced in nineteen years of Spanish occupation the sum of $6000000 in gold." Platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
was saved by dredges on Nechi River in 1922. In November 1986, a terrorist group bombed a dredge in the river, forcing the temporary cessation to gold production in the area.
Transportation
Navigation of the river is extremely hazardous. Steamers have been known to become wedged against a rock ledge by rough currents when the river is flooded.Archaeology
The Field Museum of Natural HistoryField Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
was the recipient of a rare collection of gold ornaments, excavated from the basin of the Nechi River in 1918. The donor was the Wrigley Company. Miners who excavated the treasure turned it over to an agent of the company in Colombia. Wrigley, a member of the Board of Trustees, turned it over to the museum. The collection consists of breast-plates, aprons, elaborate earrings, bells and neck, laces, all in pure gold, forming the most valuable collection in the world of art of Colombia's ancient dwellers. In 1996, 29 archaeological sites, including Brisas Palagua, La Suiza, La Primavera, San Juan Bedout, Barcelona, El Amparo, Cano Regla, Palestina, Montenegro, and Tucuman, were found between the Nechí and Magdalena Rivers. Plano-convex scrapers and a projectile point were excavated.
Culture
The indigenous population are chiefly BlackBlack people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
and Mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
. Due to a process of population sifting into darker and lighter groups, the lowland mining areas around the Nechi River demonstrate a significantly blacker population than the highland areas. Most of the population is very poor. Their diet consists chiefly of river fish, rice, beans, plantains, meat and a great abundance of panela
Panela
Panela is unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America, which is basically a solid piece of sucrose and fructose obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice....
.