Natural regions of Colombia

The Andes mountains form the most populous region of Colombia and contain the majority of the country's urban centres.

The Caribbean Region covers 132,218 km2 (51,050 sq mi) adjacent to the Caribbean Sea, stretching from the Gulf of Urabá in the west to the Guajira Peninsula in the east and including some or all of the departments of Guajira, Bolívar, Atlántico, Cesar, Magdalena, Sucre, Córdoba, Santander and Antioquia.

As the area first settled by Europeans, the Caribbean region is also the location of the historic port cities of Santa Marta and Cartagena.

However, whilst generally low-lying and humid, the region also includes the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range and the Guajira Desert.

The population of the region is mainly Afro-Colombian (it also includes several indigenous settlements), and the economy is based on mining (gold and platinum), timber, fishing, cattle raising and agriculture (particularly the cultivation of borojo, banana and plantain).