| Geography and Climate |
Colombia is located in Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama.
Area comparison is slightly less than three times the size of Montana. Total land boundary
is 7,408 km, border countries are Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 2,900 km, Venezuela 2,050 km.
Climate in Colombia is tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands. Terrain consists of flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains. Elevation extreme has the lowest point in Pacific Ocean 0 m and highest point in Nevado del Huila 5,750 m. Natural resources are petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds. Land use: arable land: 4%, permanent crops: 1%, permanent pastures: 39%
forests and woodland: 48%, other: 8% (1993 est.). Natural hazards are highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts.
Environment—current issues: deforestation; soil damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions
Geography—note: only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |