439736 square miles of extremely diverse landscape, Colombia, the size of Texas and California combined. It is located at the juncture between Central and South America. Colombia is divided by three branches of the Andes Mountains. The 439736 square miles of diverse land is made up of the Los Coastal Plains on the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. There are also cool mountain plagues, valleys and active volcanoes in the Central Region, andina. In Colombia's eastern region there are plains and in the northern and southern regions there are topical jungles.
Colombia's most important export crop is coffee beans. Its largest city is Santa Fe! de Bogota. More than 10% of the worlds species live in Colombia and its 40.3 million people that live there are of mixed Spanish indigenous and black origins.
History
Around the year 1500, the Spanish began settling in Colombia. This land was soon part of New Granada which also encompassed present day Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. The Spanish rule grew in the late 1700s until 1810 when nationalists claimed independence, but true independence came in the year of 1819, when a man named Simo!n Bolivar assembled an army to defeat Spanish troops at the Battle of Boyaca! .
In the years from 1948 to 1957, civil war broke out between Conservatives and Liberals which led to a constitutional amendment requiring the presidency to alternate between the Liberal and Conservative Parties until the year 1974. The Medellin and Cali drug cartels and also various Guerrilla movements like M-19, F.A.R.., and E.L.N. began in the 1980s to cause unrest and violence. Some guerrilla factions eventually joined the democratic process in the 1990 presidential elections.
In 1990, Cesar Gaviria was elected president. He offered guerrilla groups the right to participate in constitutional conventions if they would disarm and renounce violence. Most of the groups accepted the offer, but some didn't. In the year of 1990, a national assembly was formed to rewrite the 1886 constitution, which then took effect on July 4, 1991. The elections in 1994 awarded Ernesto Samper Pizano of the Liberal party, a four year presidential term, but he was accused of receiving Campaign funds from the Cali drug cartel. Then in June 1996, Congress absolved Samper of wrong-doing. The scandal damaged the government's credibility, which contributed to an economic downfall, escalated violence among guerrillas, drug cartels, paramilitary anti-guerrilla groups and the military.
Thousands of people died from these groups' violence. Much of the kidnapping, killing, and extortion involved drug-related lands and money. In 1998, the government withdrew thousands of troops and police from the Southeast. Bombings and attacks by guerrilla groups continued. The government repealed F.A.R.C.'s safe haven. Now the violence continues to escalate and has now reached a level of all-out war
Food
Colombia n people eat 3 meals a day just like Americans. Their biggest meal is lunch. Breakfast is small and accompanied by coffee. Their lunch is always 2 or more courses, including a bowl of soup, a main dish of meat, fish or poultry, and sometimes dessert. Their preference is to eat with family, but in urban areas on weekdays, a family lunch is often difficult, so every city and town has a number of restaurants and cafeterias that specialize in serving the lunch meal.
Dinner patterns are the same as Americans. Their staple starches are rice, potatoes, corn plantains, and yucca. Meat is more common in the Highland areas. Fish is eaten more often on the coasts. Over the past decade, there has been a trend toward vegetarian food. There are not many vegetarian restaurants in the country, but they are growing.
Land
Colombia is located in the northwest corner of South America where the continents join the Isthmus of Panama. Their capital is Santa Fe! de Boyota! . Colombia has coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It boarders five countries: Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, and Equador. Some islands in the Pacific and Caribbean are parts of Colombia's territory. Colombia can be divided into four distinct regions: the Andean highlands, the Carribean lowlands, the Pacific lowlands and the Eastern plains, separated by the parallel Mountain ranges, Cordillera Occidentas (western), Cordillera Central and Cordillera Oriental (eastern)
Climate
There are no distinct seasons in Colombia, but different elevations experience a variety of temperatures. Medellin, at 5000 feet above sea level averages 70"F. Bogota! (the Capital) at 8000 feet above sea level, averages 55"F. The coast is hot and humid. With such diversity in temperature, altitude, and rainfall, Colombia produces an incredible variety and abundance of vegetarian and animal life.
Recreation / Sports
Soccer has become Colombia's international sporting strength since it's team qualified for the finals of the World Cup Competition. The sport is followed with wild enthusiasm. Thousands of supporters who watch with groups of friends often crowd around the T.V. set to watch the games. Bars and restaurants are packed with fans of both sides. When a local national team has secured a victory, the streets are filled with a procession of cars and constant hooting of horns. You can take part of almost any out-door sport in Colombia. Facilities for most indoor sports are there for the people that can afford them.
Education
The children's school year starts in February and ends at the end of June. From the end of June to mid-July, there is a short vacation. Then students go back to school until mid-November, when the longest vacation of the year starts. Because of the same temperature all year-round, there is no need for summer vacation. The Colombian Constitution guarantees every child the right to an education. Many families prefer to send their child to a private school. Many of these are run by Catholic schools. Government has the authority over all schools. Children between 6 and 14 are expected to attend primary school. In the cities most do, but in the country side attendance is less often. Parents sometimes keep children out of school to support the family. Some students have to travel great distances because some families don't own cars. The students who do good in high school can attend Universities. The school hours depend on the climate. Colombian youngsters do study the same things that us North-Americans study.
