To the South, Colombia's territory reaches 4° 12' 30", where
the San Antonio Creek mixes with the Amazon River.
The far East of Colombia reaches 60° 50' 54" Eastern Longitude
on the island of San Jose on the Negro River, in front of the Piedra
of Cocuy, that borders the Republic of Colombia, Brazil, and Venezuela.
The far West
of Colombia reaches 79° 02' 33" which corresponds to Cabo Manglares
-- where the River Mira flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Colombia also
forms part of the archipelago of San Andres and Providencia in the Caribbean
SEa between 12°and 16° 30' north latitude and 78°and 82°
west longitude of Greenwich. San Andrés, Providencia and Santa
Catalina are the principal islands in the archipelago. In the Caribbean,
close to the coast, there is Fuerte Island and the archipelagos of San
Bernardo and the Rosarios. Finally, the islands of Baru and Tierra Bomba,
the islands close to the continent (Cartagena) are part of Colombia's
territory.
In the Pacific
Ocean 3° 58' north latitude and 81° 35´ west longitude
you'll find Malpelo; and closer to the coast, the islands of Gorgona
and Gorgonilla.
Borders
and Treaties: Colombia borders the following areas:
North
East
- Panamá
(266 km.: Vélez - Victoria, August 20, 1920)
East
- Venezuela
(2219 Km; López de Mesa - Gil Borges, Apriol 15, 1941, and
legal dispositions: Laudo Español. March 16, 1841 and Sentencia
del Consejo Federal Suizo of March 24, 1922
- Brazil (1615
Km.; Vásquez Cobo- Martins, April 24, 1907 and García
Ortiz - Marabeira, November 15, 1928
South
- Ecuador
(586 Km; Suárez - Muñoz Vernaza, July 15, 1916)
- Perú
(1626 Km.; Lozano - Salomón, March 24, 1922 and el Protocolo
of Río de Janeiro, May 24, 1934)
Marine
and Submarine Areas:
The length of
the Caribbean Coast is 1600 km and it has a controlled area of approximately
536.574 Km². The Pacific Coast has 1300 km with a controlled area
of 339.500 km².
Topography
The
Colombian territory is divided in two regions: the mountainous zone
of the west and plains of the east.
The mountainous
region is made up of the Andes Mountain Range which enters Colombia
via Nariño. In Narino, the Macizo de los Pastos, where one range
separates to the left (that is called the Occidental Range) while the
other continues until it reaches the departments of Cauca and Huila.
Here, once again, the mountains divide at the Colombian Macizo, but
this time to the right (therefore called the Oriental Range). Now the
Andes have divided in three (The Oriental, Central, and Occidental Ranges).
These three ranges along with the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta and the
Sierra of the Macarena, define the topographical characteristics of
the country.
The plains
of Colombia are located to the east of the Oriental Range, to the west
of the Occidental range, and the north of the country in the valleys
and InterAndes plateaus that are formed by:
The
Oriental Plains (Orinoquia and Amazonia)
The
Orinoco Apoporis Region of the Precambrian
The
Inter-Andes Valleys of the Cauca and Magdalena Rivers
The
Aburra Valley
The
Sinu Valley
The
principal plateaus are in the Valleys of:
Ubae
Chiquinquira
Sogamoso
La
Sabana of Bogota and other smaller valleys
Hydrography
Colombia
is a country with abundant water resources that come from the oceans,
lakes, swamps, and other still waters, running waters (rivers, creeks,
brooks), and subterranean waters.
Colombia borders
the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean to the north and west of the country
respectively. There is 1.600 km of Colombian coastline on the Caribbean
between Cape Tiburon to the east and Cape Castilletes to the west. Colombia
enjoys 1.300 km of coastline on the Pacific between Ardita and Cocolito
to the north until the Mataje River meets the ocean to the south.
Lake-like
waters are principally lagoons, located in inter-mountain basins of
the different mountain ranges. Marshes and bogs are also commonly found
where the rivers run low.
The greatest number of lagoons of different sizes are located in the
Oriental Mountain range, the largest being the Tota in Boyaca and the
Fuqene in Cundinamarca. There are smaller lagoons throughout the region
including Chisaca, Ubaque, Siecha, Guativita, Iguaque, Suesca, Cucunubá
and many more.
Among
still waters, there are also reservoirs: Tomine, Sisga and Neusa in
Cundinamarca; Calima in the Cauca Valley; Guadalupe and Rio Grande in
Antioquia; and Prado River in Tolima.
The
most famous marshes and bogs are those of the Zapatosa, formed by the
Cesar River; the bogs of Chilloa, Sapayán, San Antonio and Simití,
formed by the Magdalena; those of Tadía, Opogadó, la Rica,
and Tumaradó, formed by the Atrato River; those of Ayapel, Punta
de Blanco and Carete, formed by the San JOrge River, those of Betanci
and Grande, formed by the Sinú River; and those of San Lorenzo,
La Raya and Redonda, formed by the Cauca River. The biggest marsh of
all is the Grande Marsh of Santa Marta.
Subterranean
waters are found throughout the country. When the springs have water
of elevated temperature, they are called hot springs. The most well-known
hot springs are found in the spas of Boyaca, Puraca in Cauca, those
of the Nevado del Ruiz, and hot springs of Santa Rosa of Cabal and various
zones in Cundinamarca.
Hydrographic
Paths
Drainage water
make up five hydrographic slopes: the Caribbean, Pacific, Amazon, Orinoco
and Catatumbo.
Slope
of the Caribbean: Formed by the running waters that spill into
the Caribbean -- directly or via the principal rivers. There are 435.000
of running waters to the Caribbean, and its principal river is the Magdalena
whose tributaries are the Cauca, Cesar, San Jorge, Carare, Sogamoso,
Lebrija, Saldaña, Bogotá, Negro, Sumapaz, Guarinó,
Lagunilla, La Miel, Magdalena and Nus Rivers. The Atrato flows into
the Urabá Gulf and also receives many rivers, including the Sinú
and Ranchería. There are many Colombian Rivers that flow directly
into the Caribbean Sea.
Pacific
Slope There are 90.000 km of flowing waters that run into the
Pacific, among them the San Juan, Patía, Baudó, Mira,
Micay, Dagua, Anchicayá, Yurumanguí, Naya, Guapí,
Iscuandé and Mataje Rivers.
Amazon
Slope This is the greatest running river of the world, 332.000
pertains to Colombia. That said, the Amazon's tributaries are the Putumayo,
Vaupes, Caqueta, Guainia, Caguán, Orteguaza, Yarí, Cahuinari
and Igara, Paraná Rivers.
Orinoco
Slope There are 263.000 km. and is made of the following tributaries:
Arauca, Meta, Vichada, Guaviare, Inirida, Ariari, Guayabero, Casanare,
Tomo, Cusiana, Tuparro and Guarrojo.
Catatumbo
Slope: Formed principally by the Lake of Maracaibo in Venezuela,
there are 18.000 km in Colombia and its principal rivers are: Catatumbo,
Sardinata, Tarra, Táchira, Cucutilla, San Miguel, Garumito and
the rio de Oro.
More
information about Colombia's Geography
History
