Columbia Facts and History

Republic of Columbia Country's flag

Geography The capital of Columbia is Bogotá. This country is about three times the size of Montana, 1.14 million sq. km. (440,000 sq. mi.) it is the fourth largest south American country. The terrain consists of flat coastal areas, with extensive coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, this includes three rugged parallel mountain chains.

Economy Natural resources include coal, petroleum, natural gas, and iron ore, also nickel, gold, silver, copper, platinum and, emeralds. Products of agricultural consist of coffee beans, bananas, cut flowers, cotton, sugarcane, livestock, rice, corn, and tobacco.

Colombian(s). People of Columbia are most likely to speak Spanish and be of the roman catholic religion The projected population for 2005 was 46 million The annual growth population is 1.8%

Historical Facts Santa Marta was the first permanent settlement in Colombia in 1525 by the Spanish. To defy spanish authority the citizens of Bogotá created the first representative council on July 20, In 1813 independence was fully proclaimed, the first president elected was Simon Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander was vice president. Their Constitution was created in July 1991.

Columbia is important to United States Colombia's major exports to the U.S. are petroleum, coffee, coal, nickel and nontraditional exports including cut flowers, gold, bananas, semiprecious stones, sugar and tropical fruits. Oil and mining industries continue to attract the greatest U.S. investment in Colombia. This accounted for 13% of the total $10.2 billion in foreign direct investment in 2005.

Travel Information ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: You must present a valid U.S. passport to enter and depart Colombia. For more information visit Every traveler should check travel warnings available on the Internet home page: If you plan on bringing electrical devices with you remember that Colombia uses 110 volts AC (60 Hz) you may need an electrical adapter. Also you should convert your US dollars into pesos before you embark on your journey

Map of Columbia

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