Overview

Colombia lies in the northwest corner of South America and covers an area of 439,735 square miles (1,138,914 square kilometers), about three times the size of Montana. It is bounded to the north by the Caribbean Sea, to the northeast by Venezuela, to the southeast by Brazil, to the south by Peru, to the west by Ecuador and the Pacific Ocean, and to the northwest by Panama. It embraces the northernmost point in South America, Point Gallinas, and is the only country on the continent with both Caribbean and Pacific coasts. The Andes run the length of the country in three ranges called the Cordillera Occidental, the Cordillera Central, and the Cordillera Oriental, which comprise the highland core where most of the population lives. Some of the richest farmland lies between the western and central ranges along the Cauca River. The Magdalena River valley, between the central...