Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

Equator Equator

Colombia

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Popayán
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Armenia
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Bello
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Santa Marta
Manizales
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Villavicencio
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Tuluá
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Cartagena
Barranquilla
BOGOTÁ
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COFFEE
One of Colombia’s
main exports is coffee,
grown on tropical
evergreen shrubs that require
both high temperatures and
high rainfall. Its berrylike fruits are processed
to extract the seeds, which are then dried in the
sunlight. Further processing frees the seeds from
their coverings, and the beans are ready for export.
Drying the beans by hand is very hard work,
and increasingly machines are being used.
AMERINDIANS
The original Native American
population of Colombia intermarried
with Spanish colonists. Today half
of Colombia’s population is mestizo,
which means of mixed European
and native descent. Yet some
80 native tribes survive,
speaking more than 64
languages. These Guambiano
people live on reservations,
where they make a living from
growing corn, wheat, and potatoes,
and selling their craft goods to tourists.
COLOMBIA IS DOMINATED BY THE ANDES
in the west, and the upper reaches of the mighty
Amazon in the east. Much of the land is sparsely
populated and not suitable for agriculture.
The rain forests of the east are rich in wildlife,
containing over 1,900 species of birds, numerous
monkeys, and endangered felines such as jaguars
and ocelots. In the lowlands to the west of the
Andes, the subtropical climate provides ideal
conditions for growing both coffee, Colombia’s
main crop, and coca, the basis of Colombia’s
illegal drugs trade. Originally populated by many
native tribes, Colombia was settled by the Spanish
in 1525. Colombia became independent in 1819
but has had a history of civil wars and
conflict, most recently
as a result of the
drugs trade.
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Volcano Mountain Capital
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Colombia lies at the far north of
the South American continent,
and borders both the Caribbean
Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
STATISTICS
Area:
439,733 sq miles
(1,138,910 sq km)
Population: 46,737,000
Capital: Bogotá
Languages: Spanish,
Amerindian languages,
English Creole
Religion:
Roman Catholic
Currency:
Colombian peso
Main occupations:
Agriculture, mining,
coffee manufacturing
Main exports: Coffee,
coal, cocaine, gold,
platinum, silver,
emeralds
EMERALDS
Most of the world’s emeralds are
found in Colombia, and some of
the finest examples are found
near the capital, Bogotá.
Find out more
Forest wildlife
South america
South america, history of

COLOMBIA

Guambiano

Indians