EL META
The Plains of Colombia
Villavicencio, Meta capitol of the department of Meta, Colombia
At the site of a village called Gramalote, a crossing point of many roads coming from different parts of the Llano, where people from the interior of the country arrived, a town was founded on December 20, 1842.  A century later, in 1950 it was given the name of Villavicencio in homage to don Antonio Villavicencio, an illustrious figure of the War of Independence against Spain.  In 1960, Villavicencio - the vibrating and ever growing commercial center of Colombia's East - was confirmed as the capital city of the new department of Meta.
A map of the department of El Meta, Colombia

A map of the City of Villavicencio, Meta

This territory, The Meta, is named after the river Meta, which borders with the Casanare Department.  It was named Meta by Captain Alfonso de Herrera in 1535.  The territory was part of the State of Cundinamerca until 1869; later on it was declared a separate territory and in July 1st of 1960, it became a Department.  These lands were crossed by Bolivar and Santander, who, comanding a group of brave "llaneros", achieved the courageous crossing of the Andes and took the Spanish armies by surprise at the famous battles of Pantano de Vargas and Puente de Boyaca; two glorious victories that gave Colombia her freedom and made them a sovereign nation.		 La Meta is blessed with a privileged soil, irrigated by brooks and mighty rivers like the Guatiquia, the Guayuriba and the Manacacias which feed the great river Meta and form part of the Orinoco basin; with flora and fauna considered as one of the most variated of the world; with average heights of only 400 meters and an average temperature of 29 degrees C.  It also holds an enormous potential of economic wealth, evidenced in its mines, the improved cattle breeding and technified farming.
This is the Department of Meta: savannas that are sceneries of incredible beauty, the land of free and strong men, tomorrow's source of food for Colombia and, perhaps, for the whole of America.