Editing Geography of Colombia (section)

===Andean region===
{{Main|Andean Region of Colombia}}

[[Image:Rabanal.JPG|thumb|right|250px|[[Páramo of Rabanal]], [[Boyacá Department|Boyacá]].]]
[[Image:Usgs-glaciers-colombia.png|thumb|right|250px|Glaciers in Colombia.]]

Near the Ecuadorian frontier, the Andes Mountains divide into three distinct, roughly parallel chains, called cordilleras, that extend northeastward almost to the [[Caribbean Sea]]. Altitudes reach more than {{convert|18700|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, and mountain peaks are permanently covered with snow. The elevated basins and plateaus of these ranges have a moderate climate that provides pleasant living conditions and in many places enables farmers to harvest twice a year. Torrential rivers on the slopes of the mountains produce a large [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric power]] potential and add their volume to the navigable rivers in the valleys. In the late 1980s, approximately 78 percent of the country's population lived in the Andean highlands.

The Cordillera Occidental in the west, the Cordillera Central in the center, and the Cordillera Oriental in the east have different characteristics. Geologically, the Cordillera Occidental and the Cordillera Central form the western and eastern sides of a massive crystalline arch that extends from the Caribbean lowlands to the southern border of Ecuador. The Cordillera Oriental, however, is composed of folded stratified rocks overlying a crystalline core.

The Cordillera Occidental is relatively low and is the least populated of the three cordilleras. Summits are only about {{convert|9840|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} above sea level and do not have permanent snows. Few passes exist, although one that is about {{convert|4985|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} above sea level provides the major city of [[Santiago de Cali|Cali]] with an outlet to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The relatively low elevation of the cordillera permits dense vegetation, which on the western slopes is truly tropical.

The Cordillera Occidental is separated from the Cordillera Central by the deep rift of the Cauca Valley. The Río Cauca rises within {{convert|124|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} of the border with [[Ecuador]] and flows through some of the best farmland in the country. After the two cordilleras converge, the Cauca Valley becomes a deep gorge reaching to the Caribbean lowlands.

The Cordillera Central is the loftiest of the mountain systems. Its crystalline rocks form a towering wall dotted with snow-covered volcanoes that is {{convert|500|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} long. There are no plateaus in this range and no passes under {{convert|10825|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}. The highest peak in this range, the [[Nevado del Huila]], reaches {{convert|17602|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} above sea level. The second highest peak is a volcano, [[Nevado del Ruiz]], which erupted violently on November 13, 1985. Toward its northern end, this cordillera separates into several branches that descend toward the Caribbean coast.

Between the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Oriental flows the [[Magdalena River]]. This {{convert|1600|km|mi|0|adj=mid|-long}} river rises near a point some {{convert|180|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} north of the border with Ecuador, where the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Central diverge. Its spacious drainage area is fed by numerous mountain torrents originating high in the snowfields. The Magdalena River is generally navigable from the Caribbean Sea as far as the town of [[Neiva, Huila|Neiva]], deep in the interior, but it is interrupted midway by rapids. The valley floor is very deep; nearly {{convert|800|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} from the river's mouth the elevation is no more than about {{convert|300|m|ft|0|sp=us}}.

In the Cordillera Oriental, at elevations between {{convert|2500|and|2700|m|ft|0|sp=us}}, three large fertile basins and a number of small ones provide suitable areas for settlement and intensive economic production. In the basin of [[Cundinamarca Department|Cundinamarca]], where the Spanish encountered the regional [[Chibcha]] Indians, the European invaders established the town of Santa Fe de Bogotá (present-day [[Bogotá]]) at an elevation of {{convert|2650|m|ft|0|sp=us}} above sea level.

To the north of Bogotá, in the densely populated basins of [[Chiquinquirá]] and [[Boyacá Department|Boyacá]], are fertile fields, rich mines, and large industrial establishments that produce much of the national wealth. Still farther north, where the Cordillera Oriental makes an abrupt turn to the northwest near the border with [[Venezuela]], the Sierra Nevada de Cocuy, the highest point of this range, rises to {{convert|5493|m|ft|0|sp=us}} above sea level. In the [[Santander Department|department of Santander]], the valleys on the western slopes are more spacious, and agriculture is intensive in the area around [[Bucaramanga]]. The northernmost region of the range around [[Cúcuta]] is so rugged that historically it has been easier for residents here to maintain communications and transportation with Venezuela than with the adjacent parts of Colombia.

The basic plantation of Colombia is grassy and is near the equator which allows many tropical-like plants.