Learn About Colombia

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Bogota: At an elevation of 8,600 feet, Bogota has a population of over seven million, and still has good sights to see.

The Plaza de Bolivar, with a statue honoring Simon Bolivar erected in 1846, who helped to bring independance in 1821, the Gold Museum, or Museo de Oro with a large collection of pre-columbian pieces, the nearby Catedral, an interesting, if quiet, neo-gothic church, and the old section of the city called La Candelaria, with low-key colonial buildings. Colombia's history began well over 13,000 years ago, as evidence of human occupation dates to that era.

The Spanish arrived along the coastal areas of Colombia in the early 1500s and the country became Spain's chief source of gold; Cartagena and Bogota were founded by mid-century. Spain eventually increased taxation of the colonists to fund their home-front war expenses, and the subsequent anger and uprising that occurred were the seeds of the revolution to come.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by lornapips

Colombia has at least eleven active or dormant volcanoes, the tallest of which, Huila, rises to about 19,000 feet and seems to be the highest point in the country.

The Spanish colonies on the Isthmus of Darien (since 1903, the Republic of Panama, but previously a province of Colombia) and the discovery of the South Sea by Balboa directed the course of explorations of Colombia to its north-western and Pacific sections.

The material development of Colombia has necessarily been much retarded by the political disturbances which have occurred since the first quarter of the nineteenth century and have made its history a continuous succession of civil wars. 

Colombia (), officially the Republic of Colombia (, ), is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia also shares maritime borders with Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Tratados Internacionales limítrofes de Colombia Colombia ? Limites territoriales With a population of over 45 million people, Colombia has the 29th largest population in the world and the second largest in South America, after Brazil. Colombia has the third largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico and Spain.

The territory of what is now "Colombia" was originally inhabited by indigenous people including the Muisca, Quimbaya, and Tairona. The Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of conquest and colonization creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada (comprising modern-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, the northwest region of Brazil and Panama) with its capital in Bogotá. Independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 "Gran Colombia" had collapsed with the secession of Venezuela and Ecuador. What is now Colombia and Panama emerged as the Republic of New Granada. The new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858), and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Panama seceded in 1903 under pressure to fulfill financial responsibilities towards the United States government to build the Panama Canal.

Colombia has a long tradition of constitutional government. The Liberal and Conservative parties, founded in 1848 and 1849 respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. However, tensions between the two have frequently erupted into violence, most notably in the Thousand Days War (1899?1902) and La Violencia, beginning in 1948. Since the 1960s, government forces, left-wing insurgents and right-wing paramilitaries have been engaged in the continent's longest-running armed conflict. Fuelled by the cocaine trade, this escalated dramatically in the 1980s. Nevertheless, in the recent decade (2000s) the violence has decreased significantly. Many paramilitary groups have demobilized as part of a controversial peace process with the government, and the guerrillas have lost control in many areas where they once dominated. Meanwhile Colombia's homicide rate, for many years one of the highest in the world, almost halved between 2002 and 2006. 2009 and 2010 saw an increase in the urban homicide rate, particularly in the city of Medellín, attributed to gang warfare and paramilitary successor groups.Newsweek http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/09/colombia-wrestling-to-quell-local-drug-gangs.htmlCNN http://articles.cnn.com/2010-02-03/world/colombia.violence_1_paramilitaries-rights-group-human-rights-watch?_s=PM:WORLDBBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10560568 According to the Maplecroft research institute, in 2010 Colombia had the world's sixth highest risk of terrorism.Maplecroft, terrorism risk index http://www.maplecroft.com/about/news/terrorism.htmlColombia Reports http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/12911-colombia-ranks-6-on-terrorism-risk-list.html

Colombia is a standing middle power with the fourth largest economy in Latin America. Inequality and unequal distribution of wealth are widespread. In 1990, the ratio of income between the poorest and richest 10 per cent was 40-to-one. Following a decade of economic restructuring and a recession, this ratio had climbed to 80-to-one in the year 2000. By 2009, Colombia had reached a Gini coefficient of 0.587, which was the highest in Latin America. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "there has been a decrease in the poverty rate in recent years, but around half of the population continues to live under the poverty line" as of 2008-2009. Official figures for 2009 indicate that about 46% of Colombians lived below the poverty line and some 17% in "extreme poverty".

Colombia is very ethnically diverse, and the interaction between descendants of the original native inhabitants, Spanish colonists, Africans brought as slaves and twentieth-century immigrants from Europe and the Middle East has produced a rich cultural heritage. This has also been influenced by Colombia's varied geography. The majority of the urban centres are located in the highlands of the Andes mountains, but Colombian territory also encompasses Amazon rainforest, tropical grassland and both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines. Ecologically, Colombia is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries (the most biodiverse per unit area).

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The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (Spanish: Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo) is the Colombian ministry in charge of tourism affairs. During the most famous festivals such as the Cali's Fair, the Barranquilla's Carnival, the Bogota Summer Festival, the Ibero-American Theater Festival and the Flower Festival is when the most foreign tourists go to Colombia. Many people visit Colombia during Christmas time and the celebrations surrounding the Independence of Colombia.

The Ministry of Tourism considers high seasons the Holy Week, summer (June, July and August) and Christmas season. During the holy week many travel to the Caribbean Region of Colombia or visit religious landmarks like Las Lajas Cathedral, Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, the towns of Santa Cruz de Mompox, Guamal or Popayán where Roman Catholic traditions and rituals are performed, among others.gosouthamerica.com Holy week in Colombia and VenezuelaColombia.com Holy week in Colombia

Medellin, Colombia Photographic Print
24 in. x 24 in.
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Medellín (), officially the Municipio de Medellín (Spanish) or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.4 million. With its surrounding area, the metropolitan area of Medellín (Area Metropolitana de Medellín), it is the second largest city in Colombia in terms of population and economy, with more than 3.5 million people, and ranks in population as the 91st of the world's largest urban agglomerations.

Medellín was founded in 1616 by the Spaniard Francisco Herrera Y Campuzano as Poblado de San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence Town) in present-day El Poblado. In 1675 the queen consort Mariana of Austria created the Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (Town of Our Lady at Candelaria).

In 1826 the city was named the capital of the Department of Antioquia by the National Congress of the young Republic of Greater Colombia, comprised by present day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. In 1803 the University of Antioquia, one of the most prestigious in Colombia, was founded. After Colombia won its independence from Spain, Medellín became the capital of the Federal State of Antioquia until 1888, with the proclamation of the Colombian Constitution of 1886. During the 19th century, Medellín was a dynamic commercial center, first exporting gold, then producing and exporting coffee. After the Thousand Days War (1899 - 1902), Medellín was the first Colombian city to take part in the Industrial Revolution with the opening of textile companies, and transport projects such as railways that allowed its export business to develop. In addition, its people founded several universities and vocational training institutions.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the city has regained industrial dynamism, with the construction of the Metro de Medellín railway, and liberalized development policies, improved security, and improved education. The city is promoted internationally as a tourist destination.

The Medellín Metropolitan Area produces 67% of the Department of Antioquia's GDP and 11% of the economy of Colombia. Medellín is important to the region for its universities, academies, commerce, industry, science, health services, flower-growing, festivals and nightlife.

Coffee from Colombia, Map, Berries Art Print
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Globe Trekker: Panama & Colombia

The Amazon Rainforest (in Portuguese, Floresta Amazônica or Amazônia; Spanish Selva Amazónica, Amazonía or usually Amazonia), also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America. This basin encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), of which five and a half million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations. The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, and with minor amounts in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and France (French Guiana). States or departments in four nations bear the name Amazonas after it. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and it comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

The Amazon rainforest was short-listed in 2008 as a candidate to one of the New7Wonders of Nature by the New Seven Wonders of the World Foundation. As of February 2009 the Amazon was ranking first in Group E, the category for forests, national parks and nature reserves.New 7 Wonders of the Word: Live Ranking