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
Atlantic
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
The Only Country in
South America
with coasts
on both Oceans
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
Colonial
society
relied on "purity of
blood" as a basis
for stratification:
“Peninsulares”:
persons of Spanish
descent born in
Spain;
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.
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.
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
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
The most famous
Colombian Singers: Carlos
Vives, Juanes & Shakira.
Sports
Economy
Agriculture : 13.4%
– Flowers
– Coffee
Industry:
32.1%
– Clothing
– Mining
– Coal
– Petroleum
Services:
– Tourism
54.5%
Economy
Exports: $15.5 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)
•Specials:
Sancocho,
mute, tamal,
empanadas,
salpicon, arepa,
bocadillo,
ayacos, ajiaco,
fritanga
,patacones, etc.
Thanks
For learning about my
country,