Colombia Natural Environment

Colombia is situated in the northwest region of South America, and shares borders with Panama to the north, Venezuela to the east, Peru and Brazil to the south and Ecuador to the southwest.  It also fronts the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the west.  The total area is 1.14 million sq km.

The terrain consists of flat coastal areas along the Pacific and Caribbean, three rugged parallel maountain chains, central highlands and flate eastern glasslands.

The flat grasslands in the east along with jungles and rainforests of the Amazon make up more than half of the country’s area.  The southern Pacific coast features wide marshy lowlands.  East of this are the three mountain ranges, the Western, Central and Eastern Cordillera, which are part of the Andes system, enter the country from the south, finally ending in the lowlands along the Caribbean coast.  Between the mountain ranges are valleys and sometimes deep gorges.

The capital city is Bogota.  Other large cities include Medelin, Cali and Barranguilla.

Tropical hardwoods are grown in the lowlands, pine and eucalyptus are grown in the colder areas.  Cacao, sugarcane, coconut, banana, plantain, rice, cotton, tobacco are grown from sea level to about 1,000 meters.

At between 1,000 and 2,000 meters, coffee, flower, corn, pear, pineapple and tomato are grown.

Colombia has significant natural resources, including coal, natural gas, emerald, gold, platinum and silver.  It is the fifth largest exporter of coal in the world. 

The country has a tropical climate in the north, along the coast and on the eastern plains, but is cooler on the highlands and mountains.  The rainy season is from May to November.  Bogota generally has cool days and crisp nights, with the temperature range of between 10 to 20 degrees celsius year round.