General information about COLOMBIA National Symbols Government Language Religion

National Symbols: Shield of Colombia Flag of Colombia National Flower National Anthem

COLOMBIA Geography

GEOGRAPHY

LOCATION Colombia is located in the Northwest Corner of South America. It’s size is 1,138,910 Square Kilometers.

Colombia is the size of Texas and California combined

COLOMBIA IN USA

Borders North: The Caribbean Sea Northwest: Panama East: Venezuela and Brazil South: Ecuador and Peru West: The Pacific Ocean

The Only Country in South America with coasts on both Oceans AtlanticOcean The Only Country in South America with coasts on both Oceans Pacific Ocean

Los Andes Mountain Range Has a Great Influence on its Geography, Weather and Ecosystems

Los Andes Splits into Three Mountain Chains “Cordillera Occidental”: The lowest and shortest of the three mountain chains. “Cordillera Central”: The most populated and highest. “Cordillera Oriental”: The longest.

That Divide The Country into Five Natural Areas Region Andina: The most important area with 70% of the population of the country. Region Caribe: Most of the country's commerce moves through this area. Region Pacifica: One of the wettest regions in the world. Region Orinoquia: Known as the eastern plains, where cattle raising is practiced. Region Amazonica: The natural reserve of the country.

Biodiversity In Colombia you can find 10% of the Fauna and Flora of the Planet Our country holds the first place in the world for its great variety of butterflies, palm trees, orchids and amphibians It holds the second place in the world for its variety of plants It holds the third place in the world for its variety of reptiles

Colombia Has Several Rivers Grouped in Four Basins Caribbean Basin Pacific Basin Orinoquia Basin Amazonian Basin

Historically, The Two Most Important Rivers Have Been: The Magdalena River with a 1.550 Km length and The Cauca River with a 1.349 Km length.

History of COLOMBIA

The History of Colombia is Divided into Four Important Periods The Pre-Columbian Period (12.000 BC-1492) The Conquest Period (1500 – 1550) The Settlement Period (1550 – 1810) La Republic Period (1810 – Hoy)

The Pre-Columbian Period (12.000 BC-1492) At the time of European contact, peoples from eastern South America, the Caribbean and Central America occupied Colombia. Most of these societies fiercely resisted Spanish colonization.

Los Muiscas The most numerous of Colombia’s indigenous peoples were the Muisca.

El Dorado It’s the most famous Colombian indigenous legend. It probably comes from a Muisca ceremony, in which a new ruler was covered with gold dust each year, and then washed in a sacred lake. Although many conquerors tried to find it, it was never found.

The Conquest Period (1500 – 1550) The first cities in the “New World” were founded by Spanish conquerors.

The Colonial Period (1550 – 1810) “Criollos”: Spanish descent born in the colonies; “Mestizos”: persons of mixed Spanish and Indian descent who were free but relegated to positions of low prestige. Black African slaves and “Zambos”: persons of mixed African and Indian descent, who were at the bottom of the social scale and were important only as a source of labor. Colonial society relied on "purity of blood" as a basis for stratification: “Peninsulares”: persons of Spanish descent born in Spain;

The Republic Period (1810 – To Date) Simon Bolivar organized and led military forces to free the northern portion of South America from Spanish rule. Colombian Independence Day: July 20th, 1810.

Colombian people Population 43. Million Approx. 58% Mestizos. (EuroNative) 20% Mixture (Indian-Euro). 14% Mulatto. 4% Black 3% Mixture (Black-Native). 1% Native Americans.

Religion: 90% Roman Catholic, other 10%. Education: 91.3% Men 91.7% women 91.5% Total (2000 est.). Elementary: 90.7% pop. Secondary: 61% Pop. University: 10.6% 2000 est Religion: 90% Roman Catholic, other 10%.

Cities Bogota

Bogota Capital District Population 8,350,000 5,261 people/km² Altitude of 2640 m (8660 ft) Temperature is about 14 °C (57 ° F) Area covers 384.3 km² 1222.5 km²

Bogota MODERN OLD

TRANSMILENIO TRANSMILENIO

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES TEATRO COLON PLANETARIO JARDIN BOTANICO

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS BOOK FAIR THEATER FESTIVAL BOGOTA FASHION

TOURIST PLACES GOLD MUSEUM MONSERRATE NATIONAL MUSEUM PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

Other Cities

MEDELLIN

CARTAGENA

CALI

BARRANQUILLA

SANTA MARTA

TOURIST PLACES

SAN AGUSTIN

SANTA MARTA SNOW MOUNTAIN

CABO DE LA VELA

SALT CATHEDRAL

RUIZ AND TOLIMA SNOW VOLCANOES

GALLINERAL PARK

TEQUENDAMA WATERFALL

VILLA DE LEYVA TOWN

TAYRONA NATURAL PARK

AMAZONAS RIVER

LAS LAJAS CATHEDRAL

SAN ANDRES ISLAND

Our People: artist, scientist, writer

The most famous Colombian Singers: Carlos Vives, Juanes & Shakira.

Sports

Economy Agriculture : 13.4% Industry: 32.1% Services: 54.5% Flowers Coffee Industry: 32.1% Clothing Mining Coal Petroleum Services: 54.5% Tourism

Economy Exports: $15.5 billion f.o.b Imports: $15.34 billion f.o.b Commodities: Petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers Partners: US 42.1%, Venezuela 9.7%, Ecuador 6%. Imports: $15.34 billion f.o.b Commodities: industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity . Partners: US 29.1%, Venezuela 6.5%, China 6.4%, Mexico 6.2%, Brazil 5.8%.

Currency The official currency of Colombia is the PESO. 1 PESO = 100 centavos. There are coins in the following denominations: $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $200 and $500 pesos. There are paper notes in the following denominations: $1,000, $2,000, $5,000, $10,000, 20,000 & 50,000 pesos. 1 Dollar = 2000 pesos.

Industry Growth rate: 6%/07 Textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds.

Agriculture Coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseeds, vegetables; forest products; shrimp

Colombian Coffee It is considered the ‘Richest' coffee in the world because is rich in flavor. Colombia produces about 12% of the coffee in the world. There are two main regions of coffee production in Colombia: Medellín, Armenia, and Manizales (MAM) in the central region and Bogotá and Bucaramanga in the eastern region.

CRAFTS

Services: Tourism: Us 350 7/D Eje cafetero, Cartagena, Santamarta, San Andres, Amazonas, Guajira. Other services: Education, health, technology, insurance and banking.

Colombian Food Colombian Food is very rich and depends on the region. Fruits (banana, passion fruit, kiwis, feijoas, guava, guanabana, coconut). Vegetables: (potato, yuca, plantain,guineos and avocado) Meat ( steak, fish, lamb, chiguiro, chivo and seafood) Colombian Food

Specials: Sancocho, mute, tamal, empanadas, salpicon, arepa, bocadillo, ayacos, ajiaco, fritanga ,patacones, etc.

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