WHAT IS THE ASTRONOMICAL POSITION OF COLOMBIA? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The astronomical position of Colombia refers to the location of this Latin American country on the earth's surface. To determine this location, it is necessary to use coordinates, meridians and parallels that locate it at a specific point on planet Earth.

Colombia extends from 12º 27'46 ”north latitude (that is, from Punta de Gallina on the Guajira peninsula) to 4º 13'30” south latitude (up to the Quebrada de San Antonio).

extends from 66º 50'54 ”west of the Greenwich meridian on the east (that is, from San José Island in the Guainía River), to 79º 0 '23 on the aforementioned meridian, on the west (where located Cape Manglares).

It is necessary to point out that Colombia also has the Islands of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, which are located at 13º 24 ′ 03 ”north latitude, 81º 22 ′ 14” west of the Greenwich Meridian. It also has the Island of Malpelo, which is located in the Pacific Ocean.

It can be said that Colombia has a land area of ​​1 ′ 141,748 km2, which positions it in the fourth (4) place of the largest countries in South America, after Brazil, Argentina and Peru.

It is also considered the seventh largest country in the American Continent and number twenty-five (25) in the entire world.

Limits of the Republic of Colombia

The astronomical position of the Republic of Colombia locates it geographically in the Northwest of South America, on the Equatorial Zone, limiting to the north with Panama and the Caribbean Sea, to the east with Venezuela and Brazil, to the south with Peru and Ecuador, and for the west with the Pacific Ocean.

However, its limits are extended a little more, thanks to the Insular Regions that the Republic of Colombia has. Therefore, it has maritime boundaries with the following countries: the Republic of Costa Rica, the Republic of Honduras, Jamaica, the Republic of Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti.

According to the aforementioned, it can be said that the Republic of Colombia represents a meeting point between the entire American Continent.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Astronomical Position

Advantages of the Astronomical Position of Colombia

1-Represents a link between the countries of the north and south of the American Continent, as well as with Europe and the countries of the Pacific Basin.

2-Its geographical location, allows access to the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic, which gives it an advantage both in trade and in the military.

3-Its Insular Regions allowed the establishment of the following ports: Santa Marta, Cartagena (located in the Caribbean Sea) and Buenaventura (located in the Pacific Ocean), which represent a strategic point for trade.

4-The Islands allow the development of the fishing industry. The San Andrés and Providencia Islands receive a large number of tourists each year, since they have a natural attraction that others do not have.

5-It has river trade through the Amazon basins (shared with Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guyana and Suriname) and the Orinoco basin (shared with Venezuela).

6-Due to its location, it represents a convergence point for maritime and air routes. On many occasions it serves as a stopover for airplanes and ships, which favors trade and transit tourism.

7-They have possibilities for the construction of new interoceanic channels, as long as they take advantage of rivers like the Atrato, belonging to the Department of Chocó.

8-It has great potential for the development of agriculture, since the geography of this country has made it possessing different thermal levels in different territories, which makes the development of all types of crops possible.

9-It has the Pacific and Amazon Regions, also known as Amazonia. For its part, the Amazon Region is shared with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Republic of Peru, the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Republic of Ecuador.

It is important to note that the Amazon region is considered the lung of the world, because it is the largest tropical forest on the planet and has millions of trees and plants.

Trees and plants, through the process of photosynthesis, help extract carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, leaving it fixed in their leaves, trunk and roots in the form of carbon.

Disadvantages of the Astronomical Position of Colombia

1-It has the Pacific Region (made up of Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Nariño and Antioquia), which is considered of great importance due to its strategic value, since world trade is transported from there to the People's Republic of China.

However, Colombia only has one port (Buenaventura) located there. Consequently, trade is limited and it is not a competence for the Republic of Chile, which has nine (9) ports of great influence in World Trade.

2-The Pacific and Amazon Regions, due to their composition, make the transfer of resources to the Ports difficult in a certain way. They are mostly made up of jungles and lands that have not been explored to this day.

3- The existing border conflict between the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Nicaragua causes constant legal disputes.

Nicaragua demands that the maritime limits be re-established, since it considers that part of the jurisdiction that Colombia has in the Caribbean Sea belongs to that country.

It is important to highlight that in a ruling issued by the International Court of Justice in 2012, the maritime border is redefined, with which Nicaragua gains more territory in the Caribbean Sea.

This situation generated discontent in the Republic of Colombia, which triggered it to leave the Pact of Bogotá, which recognizes the jurisdiction of that Court in the specific matter.

This situation continues to this day, which means that Colombia has to be resolving legal disputes in order to maintain its border limits.

References

1. Amazon Region of Colombia, retrieved on August 10, 2017, from wikipedia.org
2. Colombia: Lands of Contrast, retrieved on August 10, 2017, from discovercolombia.com
3. Caribbean Region of Colombia, retrieved on August 10, 2017, from wikipedia.org
4. Geography of Colombia, retrieved on August 10, 2017, from wikipedia.org
5. Location of Colombia, retrieved on August 10, 2017, from worldatlas.com
6. Orinoquía Region of Colombia, retrieved on August 10, 2017, from wikipedia.org
7. Pacific / Chocó natural region, retrieved on August 10, 2017, from wikipedia.org
8. Where is Colombia, retrieved on August 10, from worldatlas.com.