Alternative titles: Republic of Colombia; República de Colombia




The land














Drainage and soils

In Colombia’s rugged terrain the rivers have been historically important as routes of transportation and settlement. By far the most important river system is the Magdalena. Its drainage basin, including that of its major tributary, the Cauca, covers some 100,000 square miles (260,000 square km), or nearly one-fourth of the surface of the country. Within it are found most of the nation’s socioeconomic activity and more than three-fourths of its population. Originating in the Andean Páramo de Las Papas, the Magdalena flows northward in the structural depression between the Cordilleras Central and Oriental for almost 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to empty into the Caribbean near Barranquilla. The Dique Canal, begun during the colonial period, links its lower course with the coastal city of Cartagena. The Cauca River, which contributes a substantial part of its total flow, rises in the mountains south of Popayán and, after passing through the floor of the Cauca valley near Cali, occupies deep canyons in most of its passage through the departments of Caldas and Antioquia before emerging onto the floodplain of the lower Magdalena.

Magdalena River [Credit: Carl Frank/Photo Researchers]Magdalena RiverCarl Frank/Photo ResearchersThe Magdalena, a shallow, braiding stream in its upper and middle course, served as a major transport artery for most of the country’s history, but deforestation and soil erosion have led to silting and increased flow variation so that its role has become less significant. Because of its rapids, the Cauca has never been of much importance for the moving of goods. Among the major affluents of the Magdalena, besides the Cauca, are the Sogamoso, Cesar, San Jorge, Saldaña, Lebrija, and Carare rivers. The Sinú and the Atrato are other major streams that flow directly into the Caribbean.

The great eastern watershed is subdivided into two sections, the waters flowing into the Orinoco and the Amazon rivers, which carry them to the Atlantic Ocean. The Arauca and Meta, the lower reaches of which cross into Venezuela, and the Vichada, Inírida, and Guaviare are among the main rivers that flow into the Orinoco. Among the streams that flow into the Amazon are the Vaupés, Caquetá, and Putumayo. The rivers that flow into the Pacific are relatively short, descending rapidly from the Cordillera Occidental to the sea. They carry large volumes of water, however, because they drain areas of extremely heavy rainfall. Among the rivers belonging to the Pacific watershed are the Baudó, San Juan, Dagua, Naya, San Juan de Micay, Patía, and Mira, which rises in Ecuador.

coffee: Colombia [Credit: Carl Frank/Photo Researchers]coffee: ColombiaCarl Frank/Photo ResearchersThe wide variety of soils encountered in the country reflects climatic, topographic, and geologic conditions. Those best suited for modern, mechanized agriculture are the alluvial soils found in the principal river valleys, such as the Magdalena, Cauca, Sinú, Cesar, and Ariguaní. The former lake beds of some of the inter-Andean basins, notably the Sabana de Bogotá and the Ubaté and Chiquinquirá valleys, also fall into this category. Elsewhere, soils of volcanic origin, especially in the coffee-growing districts of the Cordillera Central, can be exceptionally productive if protected from erosion. The Quindío department, west of Bogotá, is especially renowned for its rich soils.


Because of the country’s close proximity to the Equator, its climate is generally tropical and isothermal (without any real change of seasons). Temperatures vary little throughout the year. The only genuinely variable climatic element is the amount of annual precipitation. Climatic differences are related to elevation and the displacement of the intertropical convergence zone between the two major air masses from which the northeast and southeast trade winds originate. Human settlement is more oriented to vertical zoning in Colombia than anywhere else in Latin America.





Plant and animal life

Malpelo Island [Credit: Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz]Malpelo IslandContunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, MainzThe diversity of life-forms and habitats in Colombia has impressed observers since the days of the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt. The complex pattern of climate, soil, and topography has produced an extraordinary range of plants and plant communities that vary through both vertical and horizontal zones. They range from the mangrove swamps of the coasts, the desert scrub of La Guajira, the savanna grasslands and gallery ecosystems of the Atlantic lowlands and the Llanos, and the rainforest of Amazonia and the Chocó region to the widely diverse and complex montane ecosystems of the Andean slopes.

Human intervention has vastly altered what must have been the original vegetation of the Atlantic lowlands and the Andean region. Forests probably covered all but the highest and driest areas, where the soils were unsuited to support them. Today they are restricted to the steepest, most inaccessible slopes and to areas of especially high rainfall in the inner Andes. Elsewhere pasture, crops, or degraded scrub and grass have replaced the original cover of broad-leaved evergreen trees. The first chroniclers often described the Andes as sparsely wooded, a condition they usually attributed to Indian agriculture and burning. In more recent times, with the increasing number of European cattle, the area in grassland has been vastly extended, both in the mountains and on the Atlantic lowlands. Introduced grass species of African origin are particularly conspicuous.

Even in the most lush forest tracts that remain, such as those that flank the outer sides of the eastern and western ranges, there is much evidence of earlier human occupation. These wet montane forests are characterized by lianas, mosses, orchids, and bromeliads and by such economically valued plants as cinchona, the latex-bearing balata, ivory nut (tagua), and the giant American bamboo. Lumbering has had a minor role because of the singular difficulty of access as well as the absence of forests of any one commercial species. In modern times technological advances have made possible the exploitation of forest species in accessible parts of the Atrato River basin and on the Pacific coast near Buenaventura.

The distinctive páramo biome of the equatorial high mountains reaches its greatest development in Colombia. This alpine vegetation is characterized by tussock grasses, cushion plants, and the treelike frailejón (Espeletia), a curious-looking hairy-leafed genus of some 50 different species. Fire-resistant and adapted to low temperatures and high humidity, it gives special character to the páramo landscape. The lower páramo, below 12,000 feet (3,650 metres), is a transitional belt in which scattered clumps of trees occur. Despite its bleak and forbidding climate, much of the páramo has been significantly altered by human activity, especially wood cutting and burning to promote better grazing. Agriculture has also impinged on its lower reaches, but extensive tracts remain relatively untouched by humans.

spectacled bear [Credit: Werner Layer/Bruce Coleman Ltd.]spectacled bearWerner Layer/Bruce Coleman Ltd.The animal life of the forests of the Amazon and Pacific coastal Chocó regions is particularly rich and has supported a considerable export trade to North American and European zoos. It includes anteaters, sloths, several monkey species, tapirs, peccaries, spectacled bears, deer, and such large tropical rodents as agoutis, pacas, and capybaras. Carnivores include pumas and jaguars, which were considered endangered species by the 1980s, and raccoons.

Bird habitats are influenced by elevation, and many species are specific to narrow altitudinal bands, ranging upward and downward only very short distances. The extremely lush birdlife encompasses more than 1,500 species, including toucans, hummingbirds, and those that migrate annually from North America. Among the reptiles, turtles, lizards, snakes, caimans, and crocodiles abound. Some quite unusual species inhabit the land, including earthworms that grow up to six feet in length. Freshwater fish include catfish, bocachica (“smallmouth”), and characins (small, brightly coloured tropical fishes). Electric eels also inhabit the inland waters. The Magdalena and Cauca once supported rich river fisheries, but pollution and unrestrained commercial exploitation have taken a heavy toll.


Settlement patterns


Of early colonial importance, the Atlantic lowlands are now second to the Andean region in population and economic significance. The area is home to one-fifth of Colombia’s population, partly concentrated in Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Santa Marta, the country’s principal Caribbean ports. Cattle raising and mixed agriculture are the traditional economic activities, but large-scale commercial farming, especially of rice, cotton, and bananas, has been successful. Irrigation has expanded since the mid-20th century, especially in the valleys of the Sinú and Cesar rivers. Bananas are grown for export in the Urabá region.

The Pacific coast, including the department of Chocó, with its lush rainforest and infertile soils, is sparsely inhabited. Most of its people are descendants of liberated African slaves who settled in agricultural clearings along the rivers. It has little commercial activity. The coastal city of Buenaventura is the only port of note and the main population centre.

Caicedo, Plaza de [Credit: Victor Englebert]Caicedo, Plaza deVictor EnglebertThe Andean region is the centre of national political and economic power, with most of the country’s population and large cities, including Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali, the three most populous. The Cauca valley, with its vast tract of alluvial soil, the Sabana de Bogotá, and the Antioquia highlands are perhaps the most dynamic centres of economic activity and growth.

cattle: cattle herding in eastern Colombia [Credit: Carl Frank/Photo Researchers]cattle: cattle herding in eastern ColombiaCarl Frank/Photo ResearchersAlthough the Llanos and the Amazonian rainforest together make up nearly two-thirds of the country’s land area, they contain only a tiny fraction of the population. About one-third of this number are in the department of Meta in the Llanos, where cattle raising has long been the traditional way of life. New penetration roads extending down from the Andes have encouraged colonization along the margins of both of these areas, as have discoveries of petroleum. The remoter areas of the Amazon region were sparsely inhabited only by small groups of Indians until the 1990s, when coca growers and guerrilla groups joined them.

Colombia Flag


Official nameRepública de Colombia (Republic of Colombia)
Head of state and governmentPresident: Juan Manuel Santos
Official languageSpanish
Official religionnone1
Monetary unitpeso (Col$)
Population(2014 est.) 47,872,000
Total area (sq mi)440,831
Total area (sq km)1,141,748
Urban-rural populationUrban: (2011) 75.3%
Rural: (2011) 24.7%
Life expectancy at birthMale: (2012) 71.6 years
Female: (2012) 78.2 years
Female: (2010) 93.5%
GNI per capita (U.S.$)(2013) 7,560
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