I. Introduction

Colombia, republic in South America, situated in the northwestern part of the continent, and bounded on the north by Panama and the Caribbean Sea, on the east by Venezuela and Brazil, on the south by Peru and Ecuador, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is the only country of South America with coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The total land area of the country is 1,141,748 sq km (440,831 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Santafé de Bogotá.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, a number of indigenous groups, including the Chibcha, occupied the land that is present-day Colombia. From the 16th century through the early 1800s, Colombia was a colony of Spain. It achieved independence in 1819. Following independence, Colombia became a republic with an elected government, although it went through periods of civil unrest and dictatorship.

Colombian society is divided between the upper and lower classes, with a large and growing gap between them. A middle class developed during the 20th century, but it is still quite small. Many of the attitudes that led to Colombia's sharp class divisions originated in 16th-century Spain and became ingrained in Colombian society during the colonial period. Family lineage, inherited wealth, and racial background continue to be powerful determinants of status. Economic progress during the 20th century has only slightly reduced the concentration of political, social, and economic power in the hands of the small upper class.

As a result of these social divisions, Colombia has experienced a period of ongoing political violence since the 1950s. By the late 1990s, leftist rebels committed to change in the economic and social system controlled much of the southeastern countryside. At the same time, right-wing paramilitary groups supporting the traditional power structure became active in the northwestern regions. Many thousands of Colombians died or were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.

II. Land and Resources

The distinguishing topographical feature of Colombia is the Andes mountain chain. The Andes are situated in the central and western parts of the country and extend north-south across almost the entire length of Colombia. The western two-fifths of the country lies in the highlands of the Andes. The ranges of the Andes are separated by deep depressions. Almost all of Colombia's population lives in the narrow valleys and basins nestled among the mountains. East of the Andes, three-fifths of the country consists of portions of the llanos, or grasslands, and selva, or rain forest. The llanos lie on the plain that drains northeast into the Orinoco River, and the selva drains southeast into the Amazon River basin. Along the shore of the Caribbean Sea is a strip of lowland.

The Andes comprise three principal and parallel ranges: the Cordillera Occidental in the west, the Cordillera Central, and the Cordillera Oriental in the east. On the Caribbean coast is the isolated mountain mass known as the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, which includes Colombia's highest point at Pico Cristóbal Colón (5,776 m/18,950 ft).

The westernmost of the three high Andean cordilleras, the Cordillera Occidental, rises upward through successive vegetation zones to culminate in barren volcanic peaks some 3,700 m (12,000 ft) above sea level. This range extends as an almost unbroken wall throughout its length; generally it is not high enough to reach into the zone of permanent snow.

The Cordillera Central contains the volcanic peaks of Huila (5,750 m/18,865 ft) and Tolima (5,616 m/18,425 ft). About 240 km (about 150 mi) south of the Caribbean Sea, the Cordillera Central descends to marshy jungle. The cordillera peaks are perpetually covered with snow; the timberline in these mountains lies at about 3,000 m (about 10,000 ft).

To the east, the Cordillera Oriental rises to a height of 5,500 m (18,000 ft). Unlike the other two ranges, the Cordillera Oriental is densely populated. Most of its inhabitants live in a series of basins in the mountains at an elevation of 2,400 m to 2,700 m (8,000 ft to 9,000 ft). The three largest cities in this region, each occupying a different basin, are Bogotá, Chiquinquirá, and Sogamoso.

East of the Cordillera Oriental are vast reaches of torrid lowlands, thinly populated and only partly explored. The southern portion of this region, called selvas (rain forests), is thickly forested and is drained by the Caquetá River and other tributaries of the Amazon. The northern and greater part of the region comprises vast plains, or llanos, and is traversed by the Meta and other tributaries of the Orinoco. Between the cordilleras are high plateaus, a number of which are about 2,400 m (about 8,000 ft) above sea level, and fertile valleys, traversed by the principal rivers of the country. The principal river of Colombia, the Magdalena, flows north between the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Central, across practically the entire country, emptying into the Caribbean near Barranquilla after a course of about 1,540 km (about 957 mi). The Cauca, also an important means of communication, flows north between the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Occidental, merging with the Magdalena about 320 km (about 200 mi) from the Caribbean. In the west the Patía cuts its way through the Andes to empty into the Pacific. The coastline of Colombia extends for about 1,760 km (about 1,090 mi) along the Caribbean and for about 1,450 km (about 900 mi) along the Pacific. River mouths along the coasts are numerous, but no good natural harbors exist.

A. Climate

Colombia lies almost entirely in the Torrid Zone, a meteorological term denoting the areas of the earth's surface between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. The climate, however, varies with the elevation. The low regions along the coast and the deep Patía and Magdalena river valleys are torrid, with average annual temperatures of 24° to 27° C (75° to 80° F). From about 500 to 2,300 m (about 1,500 to 7,500 ft) the climate is subtropical, and from about 2,300 to 3,000 m (about 7,500 to 10,000 ft) it is temperate. Above about 3,000 m (about 10,000 ft) is the cold-climate zone, where temperatures range from -18° to 13° C (0° to 55° F). The average January and July temperatures in Bogotá are the same: 14° C (57° F). The averages for the same months in Barranquilla are 27° C (80° F) and 28° C (82° F).

Throughout the year, three-month periods of rain and dry weather alternate. Along the Pacific coast precipitation is heavy. At Bogotá the annual rainfall averages about 1,060 mm (about 42 in), and in Barranquilla it averages about 800 mm (about 32 in). Dry weather prevails on the slopes of the Cordillera Oriental.

B. Natural Resources

The mineral resources of the country are varied and extensive. Colombia is the major world source of emeralds. Other significant reserves include petroleum and natural gas, coal, gold, silver, iron ore, salt, platinum, and some uranium.


C. Plants and Animals

The indigenous flora and fauna of Colombia are as varied as the topography. Mangroves and coconut palms grow along the Caribbean coast, and the forest regions, which cover about one-half of the country, include such commercially useful trees as mahogany, lignum vitae, oak, walnut, cedar, pine, and several varieties of balsam. Tropical plants also yield rubber, chicle, cinchona, vanilla, sarsaparilla, ginger, gum copal, ipecac, tonka beans, and castor beans.

Among the wildlife are the larger South American mammals, such as jaguars, pumas, tapirs, peccaries, anteaters, sloths, armadillos, and several species of monkey and red deer. Alligators, once numerous along the principal rivers, have been intensively hunted and are becoming scarce. Many varieties of snakes inhabit the tropical regions. Birdlife includes condors, vultures, toucans, parrots, cockatoos, cranes, storks, and hummingbirds.


D. Soils

Colombia contains several fertile low-lying valleys, but only about 2 percent of the country's land area, chiefly at higher elevations, is cultivated. Soil exhaustion and erosion, largely the result of slash-and-burn farming methods, are problems in agricultural regions.

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