Geography, climate and weather Colombia

Geography

Fourth country in the subcontinent by area, Colombia has a relief of extreme diversity. Located in the extension of the Isthmus of Panama, it is also the only country to be bordered by two oceans, Atlantic and Pacific, about 3,000 km of coastline and numerous islands, the most distant, San Andres and Providencia, are in the Caribbean Sea, some 700 km.

The landscapes of western Colombia are characterized by the mountains of the Andes. Several peaks rise around 5000 m, the highest peaks of the country are located in the Sierra de Santa Marta, the highest coastal range in the world. The Andes are divided into three channels: the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central form the Colombian Massif and the Eastern Cordillera, which crosses the country from north to south.

In the middle, two major rivers flooded the valleys, the Magdalena and Cauca. The east is composed of two major regions: the llanos, extensive plains of the Orinoco, and south, the Amazon region, bordering Peru and Brazil.

Climate

Located near the equator, Colombia has two seasons, corresponding to the summer dry season (December-January and July-August) and winter rainy season (April-May and October-November) .

The climate varies by region and altitude with relatively stable temperatures throughout the year. The humid tropics of the Amazon or the Caribbean, the desert Guajija, the freezing temperatures of Paramos (areas above 3000 m of altitude), Columbia disclaim all thermal and climatic variations, even in their extreme.

In general, we calculate the temperature decreases from 6 degrees every 1000 m.

Fauna and flora

The inventory is impressive. Colombia is after Madagascar and Brazil the richest country in the world's species, and even the first in the diversity of birds with over 1700 species represented (including the Andean condor). There are also some 165,000 species of butterflies, all kinds of reptiles, amphibians and tropical fish. As for mammals, may be mentioned those of the rain forest: monkeys, armadillos, spectacled bears, capybaras (the largest rodent in the world), jaguars ...

Flora side, to the delight of botanists, there are about 130,000 species of plants, of which half would be endemic, and 50 000 species of flowers including orchids 3000. The orchid is also elevated to a national flower. These are the orchids with the roses occupy the greenhouses that are noticed before landing in Bogota.

The Colombian government has decided to protect this exceptional biodiversity and created over 9 million hectares involved 36 national parks and 15 protected areas. Sometimes it will get a special permit to visit them. Note that many of them remain inaccessible and even dangerous as that may be occupied by the guerrillas.

The most affordable are the Tayrona Park and the Rosario Islands in the Caribbean; Amacayacu, near Leticia, los Nevados, volcanic chain of the Cordillera Central, Gorgona Island, on the Pacific coast; Chingaza, close to Bogotá and Iguaque the sanctuary, near Vila de Leyva.