Both Santa Marta and Taganga were founded by Rodrigo de Bastidas on July 29, 1525, making them two of the oldest remaining colonial settlements in present-day Colombia.[5] Taganga is located on the northern coast of Colombia, at the northwestern flank of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the triangular mountain range in northern Colombia hosting the double peak Pico Cristóbal Colón and Pico Simón Bolívar, the highest mountain(s) (5,700 metres (18,700 ft)) closest to the sea (42 kilometres (26 mi)) in the world.[8] The greenish phyllites are rich in phyllosilicates, amphiboles and large crystals of pyrite, while the amphibolites contain quartzite veins showing stockwork patterns surrounded by muscovite.[10] The urban center of Taganga is situated on alluvial fan deposits fed by the hinterland of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.[11] Analysis of actinolite minerals in the phyllites of Taganga produced Lower and Mid-Cretaceous ages, which is much older than the Rodadero Formation outcropping south of Santa Marta.[19][21] In 1502, the Colombian Caribbean coast stretching from the Needle Cape (Cabo de la Aguja) until the Gulf of Urabá, was explored for the first time.In the 17th century, at the time of the encomiendas, the area from Santa Marta to Riohacha was ruled by governor Diego Fernández de Argote y Córdoba.[30] At the end of 2017, the owner was summoned to a migration office in Santa Marta, arrested and deported after presenting a risk to ″public safety and social tranquillity″.[37] Various types of corals, sponges, sea turtles, molluscs, crustaceans and over 129 species of fish have been identified in the waters around Taganga and Tayrona Park.
Drought
in
Taganga
in May 2016; 1 day of rain since November 2015
Rodrigo de Bastidas
, founder of Santa Marta and Taganga
Taganga is north of Santa Marta and has grown in recent years
Boats in Taganga harbour in the morning
Mural
of a
hostel
in Taganga
Dive sites in Tayrona National Park
Isla Aguja
is highlighted
View of
Isla Aguja
Sea slug
around Isla Aguja
Coral
and fish around Isla Aguja
Honeycomb cowfish
, sea slug and sponge around Isla Aguja