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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