THE 4 MOST IMPORTANT DESERTS OF COLOMBIA - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The deserts of Colombia are diverse in location and characteristics. Colombia has four deserts: the La Guajira desert, the Tatacoa desert, the Candelaria desert and the Western desert.

Colombian deserts are arid, with extreme temperatures and no rain for most of the year. Annual rainfall rarely exceeds 250 cubic millimeters.

The desert is a frequent type of landscape on the earth's surface characterized by low rainfall, which results in the low presence of flora and fauna.

The 4 deserts of Colombia

1- Desert of La Guajira

Also known by the name of Cabo de la Vela, it is located in the north of South America, specifically in the north of Colombia.

It is the largest desert area in Colombia, it covers a large part of the La Guajira peninsula, both Colombian and Venezuelan.

characteristics

- Dry weather.

- Little presence of animal and plant life.

- It has a huge natural reserve of coal.

In this desert is the Macuira National Park, considered a natural tropical oasis.

Located between 0 and 450 meters above sea level, it covers some 25,000 hectares of the La Guajira mountain range. Most of the year it has a warm climate during the days.

2- Tatacoa Desert

It is located north of the department of Huila, in southwestern Colombia. It is the second largest desert area in Colombia.

It is a tourist destination par excellence due to the exotic of its landscapes.

characteristics

It was a tropical dry forest in its beginnings, but with the climatic changes it became a semi-arid desert with a dry warm climate.

It has 330 kilometers of geological formations, with a landscape in brown, ocher and gray tones, which makes it a natural setting with a unique attraction in the world.

It is an area rich in fossil deposits. There is little animal and plant life, but it is very well adapted, due to erosion, low humidity and high temperatures that reach 35 degrees Celsius.

It is considered a natural astronomical observatory due to the lack of sound and light pollution in the area.

From this desert you can see 88 constellations, meteor showers and different astronomical events.

3- Candelaria Desert

Also known by the name of "desert of souls", it is located in the Boyacá department, in western Colombia.

Much of the economic income of the area is due to tourism generated by the Candelaria Monastery.

characteristics

It is a hollow crossed by a small river that descends from 2,600 to 2,000 meters above sea level. It is cloudy and cold.

4- Western Desert

It is an extensive arid area of ​​the department of Antioquia located in western Antioquia, between Santa Fe de Antioquia, Sopetrá, San Jerónimo and Anzá.

characteristics

Its climate is semi-arid, with temperatures of almost 40 degrees Celsius during the day and considerably low at night.

Its altitude is variable, between 430 and 1300 meters above sea level. This desert has hot, arid and infertile lands.

References

1. Avendaño, F. (16 of 09 of 2014). Colombian deserts. Retrieved on 10/16/2017, from pipe1420.blogspot.com
2. Briceño, PS (2016). Military Geography of Colombia: Strategic value of the territory in national defense. Luis Villamarin.
3. C., GM (2004). Maps of a failure: nature and conflict in Colombia. National University of Colombia.
4. Flórez, A. (2003). Colombia: evolution of its reliefs and modeling. National University of Colombia.
5. Lombana, AC (2004). Colombian soils: a look from the academy. U. Jorge Tadeo Lozano.
6. Mares, MA (2017). Encyclopedia of Deserts. University of Oklahoma Press.