The Republic of Colombia is the fourth largest country in South
America. It is located
at the north-western tip of the continent. Its neighbors are Brazil and
Venezuela to the east,
Panama to the north-west, and Ecuador and Peru to the south. Colombia
is the only South
American country that's coast is on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean
Sea. There are eight
islands under Colombian rule, and they are San Andres, Providencia, San
Bernado, Islas del
Rosario, Isla Fuerte, Gorgona, Gorgonilla, and Malpelo.
Colombia's terrain is about 45% mountainous. The major mountain chain
is the
Andes, which is the longest and second highest mountain chain in the
world. The are three
mountain ranges in Colombia that form the Andes. These are known as
Cordilleras, which
means range. The Cordillera Occidental is 680 miles long and is about
6,500 ft. high. This
range is on the western area that stretches from the equator to the
Caribbean Sea.
The
Cordillera Oriental is the longest range, at 750 miles long, and 8,530
ft. high and it cuts from
northern Colombia to southern Colombia. The Cordillera Central is
located in the center of
the country and is 689 miles long and 10,827 ft. high making it the
highest cordillera. The
highest mountain point in Colombia is the Sierra Nevada at 19,055 ft.
high. There are lots of
volcanoes in Colombia. The Cumbal is 17,500 ft. high, the Chiles is
16,900 ft. high, the
Purace is 17,060 ft. high, and the Pan de Azucar is 16,840 ft. high.
The eastern region of Colombia is a grassy lowland. 1/6 of Colombia is
uninhabited glacier
land, and 1/5 is high plateau.
Colombia has many rivers. The most important river is the Magdalena
which is 965
miles long and flows north to the Caribbean Sea. Others are...