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Colombia Cities with Hotels
 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 Bogotá.
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Colombia
Land and Resources
The distinguishing topographical feature of Colombia is the
Andes mountain chain, situated in the central and western parts of the
country, and extending north-south across almost its entire length. The
Andes comprise three principal and parallel ranges: the Cordillera Oriental,
the Cordillera Central, and the Cordillera Occidental. 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 (5775
m/18,947 ft). The Cordillera Central contains the volcanic peaks of Huila
(5750 m/18,865 ft) and Tolima (5215 m/17,110 ft). About 240 km (about 150
mi) south of the Caribbean, the Cordillera Central descends to marshy
jungle. The cordillera peaks are perpetually covered with snow; the
timberline in these mountains lies at about 3000 m (about 10,000 ft).
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 River. 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 River.
Between the cordilleras are high plateaus, a number of which are about 2400
m (about 8000 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 1540 km, (about 960 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 1760 km (about 1090 mi)
along the Caribbean and for about 1450 km (about 900 mi) along the Pacific.
River mouths along the coasts are numerous, but no good natural harbors
exist.
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 2300 m (about 1500 to 7500 ft)
the climate is subtropical, and from about 2300 to 3000 m (about 7500 to
10,000 ft) it is temperate. Above about 3000 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 1060 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.
"Colombia," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia.
© 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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November 17, 2007 10:00 PM. |
