a town of New Granada, capital of the department of Cauca, stands near the source of the river Cauca, at an elevation of 5824 feet above the sea, 230 miles S.W. of Bogota. It is regularly laid out and well built, consisting for the most part of brick houses one storey high. Of its many squares, one is very large and handsome. The town contains a university, a Jesuit college, a cathedral, and several other churches and convents, besides other public buildings. Popayan has declined considerably from its former condition, both in population and commercial importance. There was at one time a considerable trade in the precious metals carried on here; but since the revolution these articles have been conveyed by different channels, and there is now at Popayan only some little traffic in woollen fabrics, salt, and agricultural produce. This was the earliest town built by Europeans in this part of America, having been founded by Benalcazar in 1537.