Geography and Environment of Colombia

The Republic of Colombia (about 440,000 square miles), is in northwest South America. Its location on the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, proximity to the Panama Canal, and economic potential give it a position of international importance. As well as its frontier with Panama on the northwest, Colombia shares borders with Ecuador and Peru on the south, with Brazil on the southeast, and with Venezuela on the northeast. The Andes mountains dominate the western two-fifths of Colombia, giving it a very different character from the remaining eastern three-fifths. The Amazon Region of southeastern Colombia lies below the Equator. Greater than 90% of the population are concentrated in the mountainous west and along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. The rest live in the Eastern Llanos, a large plains area, that constitutes 54% of the area. Most live on plateaus and mountain slopes, where elevation reduces the equatorial heat and contributes to the people’s health and vigor. By concentrating people in isolated pockets at high elevations, the mountain ranges determine not only settlement patterns, but also lines of communication and travel, which parallel the ranges in a north-south direction. Movement from rural to urban areas has been heavy, and nearly three-quarters of the population are now urban.

Detailed geography