Geography

Colombia is located in the northwestern part of South America. The fourth-largest country on the continent, it covers an area of 440,762 square miles (1,141,568 square kilometers). Colombia is bounded by Venezuela and Brazil on the east, Peru and Ecuador on the south, and Panama on the northwest. The Caribbean Sea lies to the north and the Pacific Ocean is on the west.

Colombia's landscape is dominated by the northern Andes mountain chain. Three great Andean ranges, or cordilleras, cut through the western half of the country. These are the Cordillera Occidental (Western Range), the Cordillera Central, and the Cordillera Oriental (Eastern Range). Most of the country's people live in this region. Colombia's eastern half is a vast plain crossed by tributaries of the great Amazon and Orinoco rivers. The country's most important river is the Magdalena. It flows northward through central Colombia into the Caribbean. The climate of Colombia is generally tropical, but it varies between regions.

Plants and animals

Colombia's plant life varies with the climate. The country has areas of mangrove swamp, desert scrub, savanna grasslands, and tropical rain forest. Wildlife is abundant, especially in the Amazon area. Colombia has more than 1,500 kinds of birds, ranging from the huge Andean condor to the tiny hummingbird. Other animal life includes jaguars, tapirs, armadillos, ocelots, deer, monkeys, and the rare spectacled bear. Turtles, piranhas, crocodiles, and electric eels live in the country's waters.

People and culture

Many of Colombia's people are of mixed ancestry. About 60 percent of the population is mestizo, or of mixed European and Indian descent. People of African and mulatto (mixed African and European) ancestry make up nearly 20 percent of the population. About the same percentage of the people are white. Indians make up only about 1 percent of the population. The official language is Spanish, and most of the people are Roman Catholic.

Traditionally Colombia was a rural nation of villages and small towns. Since the late 1940s, however, many people have moved from the countryside to urban areas. By the end of the 20th century nearly 75 percent of the people lived in cities. Bogotá, the largest city, had a population of more than 6 million in the late 1990s.

Colombian art has been strongly influenced by European culture, especially that of Spain. The country's most famous cultural figure is the writer Gabriel García Márquez. He won the Nobel prize for literature in 1982.

Economy

Major industries in Colombia include textile manufacturing, food processing, and chemical production. The country is rich in mineral resources, including oil, natural gas, and coal. Oil is Colombia's leading export. The country is also a major producer of emeralds and gold.

History

The earliest inhabitants of Colombia were various American Indian peoples. The most famous of these groups was the Chibcha. The Spanish conquest of the area began in the early 16th century. The Spaniards called the region the Kingdom of New Granada, after Granada in southern Spain. They founded the city of Bogotá in 1538. The Spanish forced their language, religion, customs, and institutions on the Indians. Over the centuries this led to the elimination of most of the Indian culture.

Late in the 18th century the Spanish colonists in New Granada began to rebel against Spanish rule. In 1819 New Granada gained its independence and a federation known as Gran Colombia was created. Gran Colombia included what are now the countries of Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador. The Venezuelan General Simón Bolívar became the president of the federation. In 1830 Gran Colombia was dissolved when Venezuela and Ecuador withdrew. New Granada was left on its own.

The new nation experienced much civil warfare because of disagreements between its political parties. The conflict reached its peak in the War of a Thousand Days, which lasted from 1899 to 1903. Panama gained independence from Colombia in 1903. A period of relative peace followed, but violence between political parties broke out again in 1948. In nine years of civil war about 300,000 Colombians died. In 1957 the two main political parties (Conservatives and Liberals) agreed to share power. This arrangement lasted until 1978. Since then violence has come mainly from rebel groups fighting to overthrow the government and from those involved in the drug trade. The government continued to battle these problems into the 21st century. Population (2001 estimate), 43,071,000.