COLOMBIA, a Republic of South America; bounded on the N. by Panama and the Caribbean Sea; E. by Venezuela and Brazil; S. by Brazil and Ecuador; and W. by the Pacific Ocean; area, 513,938 square miles. Pop. about 5, 000,000.
Topography. — The surface of the country is extremely varied, with lofty mountains in the W., and vast plains in the E. scarcely above the level of the sea. The Andes spread out in three great ranges, from the extensive plateau of Pasto in the S. W.; forming valleys running from N. to S. parallel to the three chains. Of the sections outside the main Cordilleras, the principal are the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the N., and the low Baudo range, along the N. W. coast. From the Central Cor miles), on the Pacific coast; the Atrato and Zulia (150 miles), flowing N.; the Arauca (600), which, as well as the Meta (700) and Guaviare (850), feeds the Orinoco; and the Caqueta (1,350), the Putumayo (1,100), and the Napo (750), tributaries of the Amazon. " The lakes are unimportant.
Climate and Productions. — Colombia possesses all the climates of the world; perpetual snows cover the summits of dillera the principal rivers, the Mag dalena and the Cauca, flow into the Ca ribbean Sea, besides several affluents of the Amazon in the E., and the Patia, which forces its way to the Pacific, through a gorge between cliffs, 10,000 to 12,000 feet high, and forms the only notable break in the long wall of the Western Cordillera from Darien to Patagonia. The Eastern Cordillera con sists of a series of extensive tablelands, cool and healthy, where the white race flourishes as vigorously as in Europe. E. from this Cordillera stretch vast lianas or plains, through which flow the Meta, the Guaviare, and other tributaries of the Orinoco. Besides these, the chief rivers are the San Juan (navigable 150 the Cordilleras, while the valleys abound in the rich vegetation of the tropics. The mean temperature ranges from 32° to 82°, according to the elevation. The rainy season falls from November to April, except among the low-lying for ests of the S. E., where the rain-fall is distributed throughout the year, and in the Choco coast district of the N. W., where, shut in from the N. E. winds, the heavy atmosphere hangs motionless, and mists and torrents of rain alternate.
The hot region, extending to an eleva tion of about 3,200 feet, produces in abundance, rice, cacao, sugar-cane, ba nanas, yams, tobacco, indigo, cotton caoutchouc, vegetable ivory, and many medical plants; and the forests, with their tangua and other stately palms, their rare balsamic resins and valuable dyewoods, are ablaze with flowers and creepers, and steeped in the perfume of the delicate vanilla orchid. In the tem perate zone, from 3,200 to 8,500 feet above the sea, many of these plants are equally common, but the cocoanut palm gives place to the oak, the encenillo, groups of laurels, and arborescent ferns, and here flourish the coffee plant, the odorous cherimoya and curibano, the fig, and the cinchona tree. The wax-palm extends beyond this region, and is found at a height of nearly 11,000 feet, and large crops of potatoes, grain, and le guminous plants are raised in the cold regions. In the N. departments, and in the immense Harms of the E. great herds of cattle, descended from those imported by the Spaniards, are reared; in the central districts, shorthorns and other English, Dutch, and Norman cattle and horses have been introduced, and are largely raised throughout the temperate zone. Among the natural mineral products are gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, coal, sulphur, zinc, antimony, ar senic, cinnabar, rock-salt, crystal, gran ite, marble, lime, gypsum, jet, ame thysts, rubies, porphyry, and jasper; while much of the world's platinum is obtained from the upper San Juan, and the principal source of the finest emer alds is at Muzo in Boyaca.
Commerce and Production.—The im ports in 1918 amounted to £4,406,800 and the exports to £7,545,712. The chief trade is carried on with the United States. The principal articles of ex port are coffee, bananas, gold, silver, and platinum. The chief imports are flour, lard, petroleum, and cotton works from the United States and Great Brit ain. Only a small part of the country is under cultivation. While much of the area is fertile, its development is pre vented by lack of communication and transport. The chief product is coffee. Tobacco is also grown and cotton is pro duced in several provinces.