El Peñol
Municipality and town
Flag of El Peñol
Flag
Official seal of El Peñol
Seal
Location of the municipality and town of Peñol in the Antioquia Department of Colombia
Location of the municipality and town of Peñol in the Antioquia Department of Colombia
Coordinates: 6°13′7″N 75°14′36″W / 6.21861°N 75.24333°W / 6.21861; -75.24333
Country Colombia
DepartmentAntioquia Department
Area
[1]
 • Total125 km2 (48 sq mi)
Population
 (Census 2018[2])
 • Total16,223
 • Density130/km2 (340/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)

El Peñol is a town and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia. The population was 16,223 at the 2018 census. It is part of the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The town is nationally known for its monolith known also as El Peñol which is a tourist attraction.

History

The town was originally founded along the Negro-Nare River in 1714 by Fray Miguel de Castro y Rivadeneiro. The area was inhabited by the indigenous Tahamí people prior to the Spanish arrival and colonization of the area. [3]

In 1971, Empresas Públicas de Medellín determined that more water and power was needed to support the rapidly growing city of Medellín, located approximately 50mi/30km to the west, and decided that the Negro-Nare River should be dammed at Guatape, flooding the Negro-Nare River valley in which El Peñol was located. The old town seized by eminent domain and a new town was built several miles west, disrupting the lives of several thousand residents who were then forced to move to the new town without recourse.[4]

The new dam was completed and the valley flooded in 1978. The El Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir now sits over the former location of El Peñol. A cross now marks the location in the reservoir above the former parish of El Viejo Peñol that fronted the town plaza. Some rural parts of Guatape were also flooded and lost.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ "Municipalities of Colombia". statoids. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2018" (in Spanish). DANE. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  3. ↑ BnB, Isabella. "Guatape History". bnbcolombia.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 Arango Lopez, Cindia (27 September 2022). "A Town amid the Waters: The Building of a Hydroelectric Dam in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia". Portal. Llilas Benson Latin American Studies at The University of Texas.
  5. ↑ Ehrlich, David (February 2017). "Cross over the flooded town of El Peñol". Smithsonian Magazine.


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