WHAT IS THE RELIEF OF THE ANDEAN REGION? - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The relief of the Andean region is one that is located within the northern equatorial Andes. The Andes mountain range enters the Colombian territory, very close to the Pacific coast, along the border with Ecuador, where the knot of the Pastures is formed, in the department of Nariño.

Continuing a little further north, in the Colombian Massif, two branches emerge: the Western and Central mountain ranges, respectively; and a third branch, which emerges from the Central: the Eastern mountain range.

These three travel the country from the southwest to the northeast and include the departments of Tolima, Huila, Quindío, Risaralda, Caldas, Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Antioquia, Santander, Norte de Santander and part of the departments of Cauca, Valle and Nariño.

The geographical study of the relief is fundamental due to its influence on the other elements of the physical environment: climate, rivers, vegetation, soils and fauna, as well as on human activities.

Route of the mountain ranges

The Central is separated from the western one, to the south by the Patía River and to the north by the Cauca River. The Oriental is gradually moving away towards the northwest and gives way to the Magdalena river basin, the most important tributary of Colombia, and reaches a height of 5,000 m in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy.

An extension of the eastern mountain range, the Serranía del Perijá, heads north, where it gradually loses height as it reaches the Caribbean coast, in Punta Gallinas, Guajira, northern Colombia. It also approaches the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in Perijá, where the Cesar river valley is formed.

From the Western mountain range, the Baudo mountain range emerges to the north-west, which crosses the Darien and heads west towards the neighboring country of Panama.

Volcanic peaks, mainly up to 4,000 m above sea level, occur in the three mountain ranges. While the peaks up to 5,000 m above sea level, which present permanent snows, are only found in the Central and Eastern.

Besides volcanoes and peaks, there are valleys, canyons, plateaus, plateaus and moors; and a fluvial system that includes the most important rivers in Colombia, the Cauca and the Magdalena.

Types of mountain ranges

Western mountain range

With an extension of 1,095 km, the Western mountain range occupies the second place in expansion; It is the lowest of the three and the Azufral volcano, the Farallones de Cali and the hills of Torrá, Tatamá and Tamaná, to the north of the department of Risaralda, stand out.

At the height of the Antioquia region, the Western mountain range reaches 4,080 m above sea level, in the Frontino páramo. It has an area of ​​76,000 square km.

Central mountain range

This is the highest and oldest mountain range in the Andes system, reaching, on average, 3,200 m above sea level. With an extension of 1,000 km, it is the backbone of the Colombian Andes. It has an area of ​​110,000 square km.

The heights that stand out the most in this are the volcanoes: Galeras and Doña Juana, close to Pasto; Sotará and Puracé in the Colombian Massif. In the center, there is the Nevado del Huila and to the north, the snow-capped volcanoes of Ruíz, Santa Isabel, Quindío and Tolima, which form the Los Nevados National Natural Park.

Eastern mountain range

It is the youngest in the system, has an area of ​​1,200 km and an average height of 3,000 meters above sea level. There the highlands of the Sabana de Bogotá, Duitama, Sogamoso, Belén and Santa Rosa stand out, among others.

Its main heights are the paramo of Guerrero, that of Merchán, the rock of Saboyá, the moor of Guantivá and the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy; some of whose peaks exceed 5,000 meters above sea level. They have an area of ​​130,000 square km.

Colombian river star

It is worth highlighting the Colombian Massif, a place where the Andes mountain range is divided into three, because it has great resources in flora, fauna and hydrography. Through its lagoons, it supplies 80% of the water consumed by the entire country, which is why it is also known as the Colombian Fluvial Star.

Cauca, Nariño and Huila share the Colombian Massif, which has great archaeological, social, ethnic and political complexity. There, important pre-Hispanic vestiges and indigenous, mestizo and Afro-Colombian inhabitants have been found.

Processes of reindigenization and settlements of guerrilla groups and drug trafficking were also developed, among others, aspects that provide a multiplicity of contexts of great interest, for different kinds of studies.

Inter-Andean valleys

The Magdalena River Valley has an area of ​​200,000 square km, it is the most important in Colombia. It is located between the Central and Eastern mountain ranges, it presents different climates and vegetation.

Meadows, steppes, jungles, swamps and swamps alternate on its route. It is born in the department of Huila and extends to the Bocas de Ceniza, at its mouth, in the Caribbean Sea.

The Cauca River Valley has an area of ​​85,000 square km. It is located between the Central and Eastern mountain ranges. It is one of the most fertile regions of Colombia in its middle part. It runs through regions of prairies in Alto Cauca, rich crops in the Valley of the same name and is not very fertile near Caldas and Antioquia. It empties into the Magdalena River.

The Valle del Atrato-San Juan has 35,000 square km of surface and is located between the Western Cordillera and the Serranía del Pacifico Chocoano; there rivers flow in opposite directions throughout this humid, fiery, jungle valley.

References

1. The Bravo to the meek: territory and society in the Andes (Colombian Massif). Written by Beatriz Nates cross.
2. Encyclopedic dictionary mega twenty-first century. Edited by Julio C. walls. Great Atlas and Geography of Colombia. Alberto Ramírez Santos and Alfonso Pérez Preciado.
3. This is Colombia by Helena Iriarte.
4. 1st International Congress of human performance in height. The population of the Andes challenge. 22 November 2007 Manizales - Colombia aspects Geophysicists of andes of Colombia. By Gonzalo Duque-Escobar.