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the Degree Confluence Project
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Colombia : Santander

6.0 km (3.7 miles) E of Piedecuesta, Santander, Colombia
Approx. altitude: 1825 m (5987 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 7°S 107°E

Accuracy: 8 m (26 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: View to the South #3: View to the West #4: View to the North #5: View to the East #6: GPS reading #7: Ground Zero #8: The Confluence Hunter #9: Road at the Confluence #10: Little waterfall 250 m from the Confluence

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  7°N 73°W (visit #3)  

#1: The Confluence from 80 m distance

(visited by Rainer Mautz)

03-Jan-2017 -- This is the third out of five reports on reaching confluence points during our trip through Colombia. Two of them had not been visited successfully before. The story starts at 5°N 74°W and continues from 6°N 73°W.

Actually we had planned to visit this confluence the previous day, while driving those 102 km from Barichara to Piedecuesta. But while Google suggested 2:33 hours, it took us more than 9 hours due to a truck accident that blocked the road. So when we passed by this confluence at Piedecuesta, it was already dark. We soon sensed that Piedecuesta is not a pleasant city for tourists during the night, we continued to Girón and stayed there in a wonderful Posada.

The next morning I left the Posada at 6 AM and reached the confluence point an hour later by our rental car. There is hardly any traffic at this time so I reached Piedecuesta (20 km) in “no time” on a highway. From Piedecuesta, an unpaved winding road ascends 800 m from 1000 m to 1800 m. The road condition was good enough for a simple Renault Logan.

In order to have at least a bit of physical exercise, I parked my vehicle 1 km before reaching the confluence point and started running from there. But when I reached the nearest point from the road, I found out that the confluence point was not exactly on the road – 33 m were missing!

Due to the steep terrain and due to the dense undergrowth it took me a couple of minutes to reach the point where all positions after the decimal points were zeros on my GPS receiver display.

At the confluence, I encountered several to me unknown plants, but also some banana trees and lianas. In order to take a meaningful overview picture I climbed back to the road and found a spot at 80 m from the zero point with a view into the valley. On the other side of the valley, there are houses within 100 m from the confluence point.

I tried to take the same route back but falsely ended up in Bucaramanga instead of Girón. Nevertheless I made it back in time to have breakfast at our Posada at 9:00 AM

More pictures can be found at mautz.net.

CP Visit Details:

  • Distance to a road: 33 m
  • Distance to a foot path: 33 m
  • Distance of car parking: 1 km
  • Time at the confluence: 7:18 AM
  • Measured height: 1790 m
  • Minimal distance according to GPS: 2 m
  • Position accuracy: 8 m
  • Topography: slope, mountainous
  • Vegetation: various trees, lianas, banana trees
  • Weather: partly cloudy, 18° C (felt temperature)
  • Given Name: The Traffic Jam Confluence

The story continues at 7°N 74°W.


 All pictures
#1: The Confluence from 80 m distance
#2: View to the South
#3: View to the West
#4: View to the North
#5: View to the East
#6: GPS reading
#7: Ground Zero
#8: The Confluence Hunter
#9: Road at the Confluence
#10: Little waterfall 250 m from the Confluence
ALL: All pictures on one page