Colombia

Capital City: Bogota  Region: South America
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Nearby:  Ecuador Peru Panama Brazil Venezuela 
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Colombia Info

Capital City: Bogota
Colombia is the only country in South America with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Lying to the south of Panama, Colombia controls the land access between Central and South America. With Panama to the north, Colombia is surrounded by Venezuela to the east, Brazil to the southeast, and Ecuador and Peru to the south west. The country was named in honor of Christopher Columbus, following the Italian version of his name (Cristoforo Colombo). Although Columbus never actually set foot on the current Colombian territory, in his fourth voyage he visited Panama, which was part of Colombia until 1903.

Climate

The climate is tropical along the coast and eastern plains; cold in the highlands; periodic droughts. Colombia is an equatorial country, so there are no seasons, what Colombians normally refer to as winter is the rainy season. Cities such as Bogotá, Tunja, and Pasto have been known to reach temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius, so if you are sensitive to cold weather be prepared. Some mountains are also covered in snow perenially. Cities along the Atlantic coast (Cartagena, Barranquilla, Santa Marta) are hot and humid, while some cities at mid-altitude in the Andes (Medellín, Pereira) have 'everlasting spring' weather.

Terrain

Flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains
Countryside in the AndesNatural hazards: highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes. Recent volcanic disaster occurred in Armero, 1985. 25,000 people were buried by lahars that the Nevado del Ruiz produced.
Highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m (18950 ft) of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The mountain is the world's highest coastal range. note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar has the same elevation

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