Colombia Colombia Official name : Republic of Colombia Area: 1,138,910 square kilometers (439,736 square miles) Highest point on mainland: Pico Cristóbal Colón (5,775 meters/18,947 feet) Lowest point on land: Sea level Hemispheres: Northern and Western A.M.

= noon GMT Longest distances: 1,700 kilometers (1,056 miles) from north-northwest to south-southeast; 1,210 kilometers (752 miles) from north-northeast to south-southwest Land boundaries: 6,004 kilometers (3,731 miles) total boundary length; Brazil, 1,643 kilometers (1,021 miles); Ecuador, 590 kilometers (367 miles); Panama, 225 kilometers (140 miles); Peru, 1,496 kilometers (930 miles); Venezuela, 2,050 kilometers (1,274 miles) Coastline: Total: 3,208 kilometers (1,993 miles); Caribbean Sea, 1,760 kilometers (1,100 miles); North Pacific Ocean, 1,448 kilometers (905 miles) Territorial sea limits: 22 kilometers 12 nautical miles 1 LOCATION AND SIZE Located in the northwest corner of the South American continent, Colombia is the only country in South America with both Atlantic (Caribbean) and

 Pacific Ocean coastlines.

It is the fifth-largest in size of the Latin American countries. It shares borders with Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador. With an area of about 1,138,910 square kilometers (439,736 square miles), the country is slightly less than three times the size of Montana. Colombia is divided into thirty-two departments and one federal district. 2 TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES Colombia has no outside dependencies or territories. 3 CLIMATE Temperatures throughout the country are dependent more on altitude than on a change in seasons. The hottest area, also known as tierra caliente , is a tropical zone that extends vertically from sea level to about 1,100 meters (3,500 feet). In this area, the temperature is usually between 24 and 27°C (75°F and 81°F), with a maximum near 38°C (100°F) and a minimum of 18°C (64°F).

A temperate zone, or tierra templada, exists at elevations between 1,100 and 2,000 meters (3,500 and 6,500 feet), with an average temperature of 18°C (64°F). Rising to elevations between 2,000 and 3,000 meters (6,500 and 10,000 feet), one encounters the tierra fría, or cold country, which has yearly temperatures averaging 13°C (55°F). Above 3,000 meters (10,000 feet), one encounters more frigid temperatures, often between -17°C and 13°C (1°F and 55°F). The seasons are determined by changes in rainfall. Areas in the north generally experience only one rainy season, lasting from May through October. Other areas of the country, particularly on the western coast and near the Andes, experience alternating three-month cycles of wet and dry seasons. Annual rainfall averages 107 centimeters (42 inches).

4 TOPOGRAPHIC REGIONS The country consists of four main geographic regions: the Central Highlands (including the three Andean ranges and the lowlands between them), the Atlantic Lowlands, the Pacific Lowlands and their coastal regions, and the Eastern Plain. Among the unusual animals that thrive in Colombia are the jaguar, puma, ocelot, peccary (a small hog-like animal), and armadillo. Native birds include the colorful red-billed emerald hummingbird, found along the coast and in the forested lower slopes of the mountains, and various species of eagle, hawk, falcon, vulture, and condor. Several species of poisonous snake inhabit the tropical forests, including the South American rattlesnake, the anaconda, and various coral snakes. Colombia sits on the extreme edge of the South American Tectonic Plate. Just to the east is the Nazca Plate, and immediately to the north is the Caribbean Plate. Subduction (one plate pushing under another) at these plate boundaries has pushed up the rock, resulting in the mountains that exist on Colombia's coasts. This process also formed volcanoes, and many of them remain active.

Folding and faulting of Earth's crust resulted in seismic fault lines between the mountain ranges, and the continued movement of the plates subjects Colombia to frequent earthquakes, some of which are very destructive. 5 OCEANS AND SEAS Seacoast and Undersea Features The Caribbean Sea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, lies northwest of Colombia. The waters along the Caribbean coast are attractive to snorkelers and scuba divers from around the world, since the water is clear and the coastal areas are lined with extensive coral reefs. Colombia has a southwestern coastline along the Pacific Ocean, which is separated from the Caribbean Sea by the Isthmus of Panama. Rich marine life fills the Pacific Ocean waters along Colombia's western coast, influenced by the Humbolt Current. It is common to see dolphins here, and deep-sea fishing is a popular tourist activity. From July through September, humpback whales populate the waters during their mating season. Sea Inlets and Straits The Gulf of Morrosquillo is located on the Caribbean coast, south of Cartegena. Further south, the Gulf of Urabá cuts sharply into the mainland just before the Isthmus of Panama. The Pacific coast is very irregular, featuring many alternating bays and capes.

From north to south, the sea inlets are the Gulf of Cupica, the Gulf of Tibugá, and at the southernmost point, Tumaco Bay. Islands and Archipelagos Colombia possesses a few islands in the Caribbean Sea and some in the Pacific Ocean. The combined area of these islands does not exceed 65 square kilometers (25 square miles). Off Nicaragua, about 644 kilometers (400 miles) northwest of the Colombian coast, lies the San Andrés y Providencia Intendency, an archipelago of thirteen small cays grouped around the two larger islands of San Andrés and Providencia. Other islands in the same area—the ownership of which has been in dispute—are the small islands, cays, or banks of Santa Catalina, Roncador, Quita Sueno, Serrana, and Serranilla. Off the coast south of Cartagena are several small islands, among them the islands of Rosario, San Bernardo, and Fuerte. The island of Malpelo lies in the Pacific Ocean about 434 kilometers (270 miles) west of Buenaventura. Nearer the coast, a prison colony is located on Gorgona Island.

Gorgonilla Cay is off its southern shore. Coastal Features The Atlantic Lowlands consist of all land in Colombia north of an imaginary line extending northeastward from the Gulf of Urabá to the Venezuelan frontier at the northern extremity of the Cordillera Oriental. The region corresponds generally to one that is often referred to as the Caribbean Lowland or Coastal Plain. This Atlantic Lowland region is roughly the shape of a triangle, the longest side of which is the coastline. Inland from the coastal cities are swamps, hidden streams, and shallow lakes that support banana and cotton plantations, countless small farms and, in higher places, cattle ranches. The northernmost extension of the Atlantic Coast is Point Gallinas. The Pacific Lowlands are a thinly populated region of jungle and swamp with considerable but little-exploited potential wealth in minerals and other resources. Buenaventura, at about the midpoint of the 1,287-kilometer-long (800-mile-long) coast, is the only port of any size. On the east, the Pacific Lowlands are bounded by the Cordillera Occidental, from which run numerous streams.

The peaks of the Cordillera Occidental provide a barrier to rainclouds; as a result, the rainfall along the coast is heavy. The rainforest that lines the coast is dense, with a rich diversity of plant, animal, and bird life. From north to south along the Pacific Coast are Point Marzo, Point Solano, and Cape Corrientes. 6 INLAND LAKES While Colombia has several lakes, none of them are very large and data concerning the area of each lake is scarce. Laguna de la Cocha, a volcanic lake located in the department of Nariño, and Lake Fúquene (with an area of 30 square kilometers/11 square miles), a shallow lake that lies in the Cordillera Oriental, are both being considered by the international organization RAMSAR as wetlands of international significance. Lake Tota near Bogotá supports tourism with abundant resources for fishing and boating. The largest lake in the north is Laguna de la Plaza. It is located in the Sierra Nevada de Cocuy Mountain Range near the border with Venezuela and has a shore lined with rock formations. Another lake in the area is Laguna Grande de los Verdes.

Lake Zapatosa is the largest of the many lakes of northern Colombia. 7 RIVERS AND WATERFALLS The Amazon River is the longest river in South America and the second-longest river in the world. The Amazon starts in Peru and touches the southernmost part of Colombia before coursing through Brazil to flow eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. The total length of the Amazon is about 6,570 kilometers (4,080 miles). It has a total of eighteen major tributaries, including ten that are larger than the Mississippi River. The river is also known as having the world's largest flow of water, with about eighty million gallons of water per second emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. The main Colombian rivers that serve as tributaries to the Amazon are the Vaupés, Apaporis, Caquetá, and the Putumayo. The Magdalena River rises near a point some 177 kilometers (110 miles) north of Ecuador, where the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Central diverge. It is fed by numerous mountain torrents originating high in the snowfields, where for millennia glaciers have planed the surface of folded and stratified rocks.

The Magdalena is navigable from the Caribbean Sea as far as the town of Neiva, deep in the interior, but is interrupted at the midpoint of the country by rapids at the town of Honda. Running parallel to the Magdalena and separated from it by the Cordillera Central, the Cauca River has headwaters not far from those of the Magdalena. The Cauca eventually joins the Magdalena in swamplands of the Atlantic (Caribbean) coastal region. Further west, the navigable Atrato River flows northward to the Gulf of Urabá. There are no great rivers in western Colombia, as the mountains lie too close to the coastline. The longest rivers in this region are the San Juan and the Patia. East of the Andes, however, there are many large rivers, including several that are navigable. The Orinoco River flows north along part of the border with Venezuela. Many of Colombia's eastern rivers flow into it. The Guaviare River and two rivers to its north, the Arauca and the Meta, are the Orinoco's major Colombian tributaries.

The Guaviare serves as a border for five political subdivisions, and it divides eastern Colombia into the Eastern Plains subregion in the north and the Amazonas subregion in the south. 8 DESERTS In the plains region of the northeast, between the Meta River and the Cordillera Oriental, some of the terrain is dry. This region may resemble desert during periods of drought, but there is no true desert terrain in Colombia. 9 FLAT AND ROLLING TERRAIN The Eastern Plains lie east of the Andes and are crisscrossed from east to west by many large rivers. The Spanish term for plains ( llanos ) can be applied only to the open plains in the northern part where cattle are raised, particularly in piedmont areas near the Cordillera Oriental. The narrow region along the Pacific coast, known as the Pacific Lowlands, is swampy, heavily forested, and sparsely populated. Along the Atlantic coast, the Atlantic Lowlands also consist largely of open, swampy land, but there are cattle ranches and plantations there, and settlements centered on the port cities. The Cordillera Occidental is separated from the Cordillera Central by the deep rift of the Cauca River Valley.

This tropical valley follows the course of the Cauca River for about 241 kilometers (150 miles) southward from a narrow gorge at about its midpoint near the town of Cartago. The cities of Cali and Palmira are situated on low terraces above the floodplain of the Cauca Valley. It is a fertile sugar agricultural zone that includes the best farmland in the country. 10 MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOES Beginning near the border with Ecuador, the Andes Mountains divide into three distinct cordilleras (mountain chains) that extend northward almost to the Caribbean Sea. The Cordillera Occidental in the west roughly follows the Pacific coast. Slightly inland, the Cordillera Central extends parallel to the Cordillera Occidental, while the Cordillera Oriental lies furthest east. Altitudes in these ranges reach almost 5,791 meters (19,000 feet) and the mountain peaks are permanently covered with snow. Below the summits, the elevated basins and plateaus of these ranges have a moderate climate that provides pleasant living conditions and enables farmers in many places to harvest twice a year.

The Cordillera Occidental range is the lowest and the least populated of the three and supports little economic activity. It is separated from the Cordillera Central by the deep rift of the Cauca River Valley. A pass about 1,524 meters (5,000 feet) above sea level provides the major city of Cali with an outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The relatively low elevation of the cordillera permits dense vegetation, which on the western slopes is truly tropical. The Cordillera Central, also called the Cordillera del Quindío, is the loftiest of the mountain systems. Its crystalline peaks form a 805-kilometer-long (500-mile-long) towering wall dotted with snow-covered volcanoes, several of which reach elevations greater than 5,500 meters (18,000 feet). There are no plateaus in this range and no passes below 3,352 meters (11,000 feet). The highest peak, the Nevado del Huila, rises 5,750 meters (18,865 feet) above sea level.

Toward its northern end, this cordillera separates into several branches that descend toward the Atlantic coast, including the San Jerónimo Mountains, the Ayapel Mountains, and the San Lucas Mountains. The Cordillera Oriental is the longest of the three systems, extending more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles). In the far north, where the Cordillera Oriental makes an abrupt turn to the northwest near the Venezuela border, lies the Sierra Nevada de Cocuy. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain system near the Caribbean coast in the northern, semiarid Guajira Peninsula. It is the tallest coastal mountain range in the world. The range includes many tall peaks, as well as some active volcanoes. Its slopes are generally too steep for cultivation. In the southern part of the peninsula, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta rise to a height of 5,775 meters (18,947 feet) at Pico Cristóbal Colón, the highest peak in Colombia. DID YOU KNOW?

In the volcanic mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the town of Arboletes is especially known for its pungent mud volcanoes, which, instead of spewing molten rock, bubble and spatter a mixture of hot water and clay or mud from deep within Earth. One of its volcanoes has a large crater that is filled with a lake of mud. Locals and tourists alike enjoy swimming and soaking in the lake. To the west of the Atrato River, along the Pacific Coast and the Panama border, rises the Serranía de Baudó, an isolated chain that occupies a large part of the coastal plain. Its highest elevation is less than 1,829 meters (6,000 feet). 11 CANYONS AND CAVES There are no major caves or canyons in Colombia. 12 PLATEAUS AND MONOLITHS North of Bogotá, the densely populated plateaus of Chiquinquirá and Boyacá feature fertile fields, rich mines, and large industrial establishments. The average elevation in this area is about 2,438 meters (8,000 feet).

13 MAN-MADE FEATURES There are two major dams in Colombia, both of which are built on fairly small but fast-flowing rivers. The Guavio Dam, on the Guavio River near Bogotá, is the tenth-highest dam in the world at 243 meters (797 feet). This hydroelectric dam produces most of the electricity for the surrounding areas. The Urrá Multipurpose Dam Project is located on the Sinú River, which flows south of the town of Montería in northwest Colombia. Besides serving as a source of hydroelectric power, this dam is expected to regulate the annual downstream flooding. DID YOU KNOW? Colombia has two archeological sites that are designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). Tierradentro is a complex of hypogea (underground chambers) located in the town of San Andrés de Pisimbalá in the southern Andes. The underground structures are ancient burial chambers that have been decorated with black and red geometric figures representing the decorations of homes from the time period in which they were created (between the sixth and tenth centuries).

There are a number of large animal-like statues surrounding the chambers, which were most likely meant to serve as guards to the tombs. San Agustin, located in the mountains and canyons just to the south of Tierradentro, is a similar site that also contains a number of burial mounds, tombs, small temples, and large monolithic animal sculptures. Researchers believe that this area was a ceremonial site where natives worshipped nature and death as symbols of continuity and evolution. 14 FURTHER READING Dydynski, Krzysztof. Colombia: A Travel Survival Kit. Hawthorn, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 1995. Lessard, Marc. Colombia. Montréal, Canada: Ulysse, 1999. Morrison, Marion. Colombia . New York: Children's Press, 1999. Pollard, Peter. Colombia Handbook. Lincolnwood, IL: Passport Books, 1998. Williams, Raymond L., et al. Culture and Customs of Colombia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.

Web Site Colombia | history - geography | Britannica.com Countries of the World The Colombian cordilleras belong to the northern portion of the great Andean mountain system, which extends along the Pacific coast of South America . The Andes are among the world’s most youthful mountain ranges and among the highest. The geologic history of this northern sector is less well understood than that of the central and southern parts. It is clear, however, that the entire cordillera has been thrust up through the subduction of the crumpled eastern margin of the Nazca Plate and, to the north, the Caribbean Plate under the more rigid but lighter South American Plate, which has been forced westward by the spreading Atlantic seafloor. These tectonic forces , similar to those found elsewhere around the Pacific Rim, continue to operate, as is evidenced by the high frequency of often destructive earthquakes . At the Pasto Massif, near the Ecuadoran border, the mountains divide into the Cordillera Occidental (“Western Range”), which runs parallel to the Pacific coast, and the Cordillera Central (“Central Range”), which, with its numerous volcanoes, forms the backbone of the system in Colombia and runs generally southwest to northeast.

At the Great Colombian Massif of the Cordillera Central, near the San Agustín Archeological Park, the Cordillera Oriental (“Eastern Range”) branches off in a more decidedly northeasterly direction. The Cauca River in the Andes, Colombia Carl Frank/Photo Researchers Dagua River Of the three ranges, the nonvolcanic Cordillera Occidental , which forms the barrier between the Cauca valley and the rain-drenched Pacific coast, is the lowest and least populated. Two passes at elevations less than 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) between Cali and Buenaventura on the Pacific coast mark the lowest depressions in the range. Elsewhere the crest is much higher, reaching 12,992 feet (3,960 metres) at Mount Paramillo in the department of Antioquia. From there the Cordillera Occidental fingers north into the three distinct serranías of Abibe, San Jerónimo, and Ayapel, forested ranges that drop gradually toward the piedmont plains of the Caribbean littoral.

A lesser topographic feature on the Pacific coast is the Baudó Mountains , separated from the Cordillera Occidental by the valley of the Atrato River, which empties into the Caribbean Gulf of Urabá; the Baudó Mountains represent a southward extension of the Isthmus of Panama . The Cordillera Central is the highest of the Andean ranges of Colombia, rising to an average height of 10,000 feet (3,000 metres). It is a continuation of the Ecuadoran volcanic structure. Crystalline rocks are exposed at several places on its flanks and are the foci of localized gold and silver deposits. Sandstones and shales of the Paleogene and Neogene periods (about 65 to 2.6 million years ago) are also a part of the older basement that has been capped by ash and lava derived from some 20 volcanoes of the Quaternary Period (the past 2.6 million years). Several of the latter reach well into the zone of permanent snow, above 15,000 feet (4,600 metres).

The highest are Mount Huila (18,865 feet [5,750 metres]), southeast of Cali, and the Ruiz-Tolima complex (some 17,700 feet [5,400 metres]) between Manizales and Ibagué . The fertile ash from their eruptions has produced the high, cool plateaus of Nariño department and the often steep slopes to the north that support much of Colombia’s coffee production. In November 1985 Mount Ruíz erupted, melting the snow and ice that covered it and sending great mudflows downslope, destroying the city of Armero and killing more than 25,000 in one of the country’s greatest catastrophes . Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest North of Mount Ruíz, near Sonsón in the department of Antioquia, the volcanic Cordillera Central gives way to the deeply weathered, granitic Antioquia batholith (an exposed granitic intrusion), a tableland averaging some 8,000 feet (2,500 metres) above sea level.

It is divided into two parts by the deep transverse cleft of the Porce River, which occupies the U-shaped valley in which is situated the expanding metropolis of Medellín , Colombia’s second city. The batholith contains gold-bearing quartz veins, which were the source of the placer gravels that gave rise to an active colonial mining economy. Beyond Antioquia the lower, remote San Lucas Mountains extend northward toward the confluence of the Magdalena and Cauca rivers. The massive Cordillera Oriental , separating the Magdalena valley from the Llanos, is composed chiefly of folded and faulted marine sediments and older schists and gneisses. Narrow to the south, it broadens out in the high, unsettled massif of Sumapaz , with elevations up to 13,000 feet (4,000 metres). High plateaus were formed in the Quaternary Period by the deposition of sediments in depressions that had been occupied by lakes. The most important of these is the savanna area called the Sabana de Bogotá .

Farther northeast beyond the deep canyons cut by the Chicamocha River and its tributaries, the Cordillera Oriental culminates in the towering Mount Cocuy (Sierra Nevada del Cocuy), which rises to 18,022 feet (5,493 metres). Beyond this point, near Pamplona , the cordillera splits into two much narrower ranges, one extending into Venezuela, the other, the Perijá Mountains , forming the northern boundary range between Colombia and Venezuela. The Perijás then descend northward toward the Caribbean to the arid La Guajira Peninsula , the northernmost extension of the Colombian mainland. Related Topics nation-state The isolated Santa Marta Mountains are an imposing fault-bounded granitic massif rising to 18,947 feet (5,775 metres) at the “twin peaks” of Cristóbal Colón and Simón Bolívar, the highest point in the country (for a discussion of the height of the Santa Marta Mountains, see Researcher’s Note: Heights of the “twin peaks” of the Santa Marta Mountains ); the massif ascends abruptly from the Caribbean littoral to snow- and ice-covered summits.

The Atlantic lowlands spread out southward behind it. Although it is a distinct geomorphic unit and not a part of the Andes, some geologists have suggested that it might be considered an extension of the Cordillera Central, from which it is separated by the Mompós depression in the lower Magdalena valley. The steep and rugged Andean mountain masses and the high intermontane basins descend into plains that extend along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts and across the eastern interior toward the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. From the shores of the Caribbean Sea inland to the lower spurs of the three major cordilleras extends a slightly undulating savanna surface of varying width, generally known as the Atlantic lowlands (also called the Caribbean coastal lowlands). Dotted with hills and with extensive tracts of seasonally flooded land along the lower Magdalena and the Sinú rivers, it surrounds the inland portion of the Santa Marta Mountains. A much narrower lowland apron extends along the Pacific shoreline from the point of Cape Corrientes southward to the Ecuadoran border. A wide range of features characterize the country’s two coastlines.

Steep and articulated bays, inlets, capes, and promontories accentuate the shoreline on the Pacific side toward the Panama border and on the Caribbean side where the sea beats against the base of the Santa Marta Mountains. These features are interspersed with sandy beaches, along with barrier islands and brackish lagoons. The eastern two-thirds of the country, lying beyond the Andes, differs from cordilleran Colombia in practically all aspects of physical and human geography. The eastern lowland extends from the Venezuelan boundary along the Arauca and Meta rivers in the north to the Peruvian-Ecuadoran border stream, the Putumayo , some 600 miles (1,000 km) to the south and from the base of the Cordillera Oriental eastward to the Orinoco - Negro river line, a distance of more than 400 miles (650 km). A region of great topographic uniformity, it is divided into two contrasting natural landscapes by a major vegetation boundary. In southern Colombia the Amazonian rainforest , or selva, reaches its northern limit.

From the Guaviare River northward the plains between the Andes and the Orinoco River are mostly grass-covered, forming the largest savanna complex in tropical America. This part of the lowland is called the Llanos Orientales (“Eastern Plains”) or simply the Llanos . In the central part of the plain, between the Guaviare and Caquetá rivers, the eroded rocks of the ancient Guiana Shield are exposed, producing a broken topography of low, isolated mountains, tablelands, and buttes with rapids in the streams. This slightly higher ground forms the watershed between the Amazon and Orinoco systems. Some 60 miles (100 km) south of Villavicencio the elongated, forested La Macarena Mountains rise 8,000 feet (2,500 metres) from the surrounding lowlands, an isolated tropical ecosystem. Page 1 of 18 Society for Caribbean Linguistics Figure 1 Q2. What is the political status of these territories? A.

The majority are independent (including four republics — Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Trinidad & Tobago), 5 are colonies of Great Britain (BWI), 5 belong to the Netherlands (N), and 3 are overseas departments (départements d'outre-mer) of France (F). Q3. Are Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador considered part of the Caribbean? A. Yes, they are part of the continental or Greater Caribbean. They are traditionally seen as part of Latin America (to which the insular Hispanic territories of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic also belong). These eight Spanish-speaking countries are not traditionally included in the above listing (A.1) of Caribbean countries.

List A.1 includes the physical islands of the archipelago (regardless of language affiliation), and the four "linguistic islands" (English, French and Dutch) in an Iberian "sea." (Latin America should really be called Iberian America, since although French is also a Latin language, French Guiana is not included in Latin America.) The four non-Iberian continental "islands" are Belize in Central America, and Guyana, Suriname and Guyane (French Guiana) in South America. (Note that Spanish is also spoken in English-official Belize.) South and Central America are often thought to be synonymous with Latin America, but they are not. Trinidad, for example, is geologically part of both the Caribbean and South America, but ceased to belong to Latin America upon British takeover in 1797–1802. The Association of Caribbean States ( ACS-AEC ) includes as member states most territories whose shores are washed by the Caribbean Sea. Included also are El Salvador on the Pacific side of Central America, and France because of its three overseas Départements ("departments") in the Caribbean and South America.

(The USA is not included, although southern Florida — especially Miami — has strong cultural connections with the anglophone, francophone, hispanophone and créolophone Caribbean, and Georgia and the Carolinas share strong historical and sociolinguistic ties with the English-speaking Caribbean, and Louisiana with the French-speaking Caribbean.) Bermuda is not part of the Caribbean due to its location in the Atlantic, but is sometimes included in a listing of Caribbean countries because of common historical links with the Caribbean islands. Pre-Colombian Amerindians, including those who gave their name to the region, no doubt had their own worldview and way of organising their world. Geography Q4. Which are the Greater Antilles and which are the Lesser Antilles? A. The Greater Antilles comprise Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica and Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles comprise the Leeward Islands , the Windward Islands , and Trinidad & Tobago. Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos to the north, and the ABC Islands to the south do not belong to any of these groupings. Q5. Which are the Leeward Islands and which are the Windward Islands? A.

The Windward Islands comprise Grenada, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Martinique, and also Barbados. The Leeward Islands comprise Dominica (which was sometimes grouped with the Windwards), Guadeloupe and her dependencies (St. Martin, Marie-Galante and St.Barths), Montserrat, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts-Nevis, Anguilla, the SSS Islands , and the Virgin Islands. The terms Windward and Leeward are also political terms. The term Eastern Caribbean often refers to the nine-member Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States ( OECS ) which share a common currency, the EC dollar (Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and also Anguilla, and the BVI). Q6. Which are the ABC Islands and the SSS Islands? A. The ABC Islands of the Southern Caribbean comprise Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.

The latter two belong to the Netherlands Antilles (Aruba is independent), as do the SSS Islands — Saba, Statia (Sint Eustatius), and Sint Maarten/Saint Martin — which are further to the north. Q7. Is it 'on' Antigua or 'in' Antigua? A. 'In Antigua', or 'on the island of Antigua', never 'on Antigua'. Similarly, one would say 'in Europe' or 'on the continent of Europe', but never 'on Europe'. It so happens that the country of (the Commonwealth of) Dominica, and the country of (the Commonwealth of) Australia to take another example, occupy the whole of their respective islands, whereas the country of Canada occupies part of the land mass of North America. Therefore, the capital of Roseau is in Dominica, the capital Canberra is in Australia, and the capital of Ottawa is in Canada. The same holds for other islands that are not (independent) countries, but places that you live in not on. Prepositions are small but powerful words. Q8. Where can I get a map of the Caribbean? A. Search for Caribbean maps at Expedia or Google Maps.

Also see Creole language maps. PART C Names and Pronounciations Q9. What are the names of the nationalities of the peoples of the Caribbean (in English), and how are they pronounced? See Table 2 below. (See Table 2 also for some of the reputedly original indigenous (Amerindian) names of CARIBbean territories. Linguistic origins are specified where possible. Go to Montray Kréyol for an article in French on indigenous names in the Caribbean, "Du nom indigène des îles de l’archipel des Antilles," by Thierry L'Etang). Select Phonemic Guide (with reference to one variety of English, i.e., Trinidadian): Consonants: Here are some general pronunciation rules. Tobago is pronounced like 'sago', 'plumbago' and 'winnebago'.

Here's a limerick of interest: There was an old man of Tobago, Who lived on rice, gruel and sago Till, much to his bliss, His physician said this — "To a leg, sir, of mutton you may go." (Edward Lear's Limericks 1812—1888) Like the 'a' in Tobago, the second 'a' in Barbados and the first 'a' in Grenada are pronounced /e/, as in 'bay' and 'neigh'. The second 'a' in Bahamas is pronounced /ɑ/ as in 'father', but /e/ in Bahamian (the 'a' in Trinidad /a/, as in 'bat', remains the same in Trinidad and Trinidadian, though some Trinidadians are known to say /trɪnɪˡdediʌnz/, like TriniDAYdians). The last syllable in Haitian, St. Lucian, Vincentian, Kittitian, Montserratian and Nevisian is pronounced /ʃʌn/.

* In terms of numbers of Caribbean nations, most speak non-rhotic varieties of English — Trinidad & Tobago, the Windward Islands, and most of the Leeward Islands. (Rhotic — from the Greek letter 'rho', transliterated as 'r' in English — refers to varieties of English that pronounce the /r/ at the end of a syllable, or after a vowel.) However, in terms of actual numbers of speakers, it can be said that the majority of Caribbean speakers of English speak semi-rhotic or fully rhotic dialects of English, since most come from Jamaica (2.3 million people), Antigua, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, and Guyana. Q10. Do Caribbean people call themselves "Caribbeans"? A. No, they don't. It is an archaic or obsolete use of the word in modern Caribbean English. As a proper noun, the word "Caribbean" is reserved for the geographic region of the Caribbean. It is used as an adjective for both people and things Caribbean, hence 'a Caribbean woman' and 'Caribbean people'.

It would sound decidedly odd to Caribbean ears to say "I'm a Caribbean living in the Caribbean" or "We are Caribbeans living in the Caribbean." 'Caribbean' is never used as a noun by Caribbean people in the Caribbean to describe or refer to themselves, and is in fact considered strange, and/or viewed negatively as non-standard usage. Similarly, one would say 'an Englishman' and 'English people', but never 'an English' or 'Englishes' (for people, although the latter is a neologism used in reference to varieties of English). Anglophone Caribbean people call themselves 'West Indians' or 'Caribbean people'; francophone Caribbean people call themselves 'antillais'; hispanophone Caribbean people call themselves 'caribeños', and Dutch-speaking Caribbean people call themselves 'Caraïbisch' or 'Antillean' in English (this is subject to correction!). We have many names. Gilberto Freyre had a great deal to say on naming oneself and being named. Q11. Is it 'CaRIBbean' or 'CaribBEan'? A. Both. Anglophone Caribbean people say either one or the other or both, sometimes both in one sentence.

The British tend to say /karɪˡbiʌn/ 'CaribBEan', and Americans tend to say /kəˡrɪbiʌn/ 'CaRIBbean'. Languages Q12. How many living languages are there in the world today? A. According to the Ethnologue.com, there are approximantely 6,912 living languages in the world today. See the Ethnologue Introduction, and the problem of language identification. See also the LSA article How Many Languages Are There in the World? and other interesting FAQs on language and language-related topics. Q13. How many languages are spoken in the Caribbean today? A. According to the Ethnologue.com , there are at least 59 living languages spoken in the Caribbean today, including 4 endangered or nearly extinct languages. Figure 2 Most of these 59 languages are not spoken in the insular Caribbean, but in the continental Caribbean, which here includes Central American Belize and the three South American Guyanas, but not the rest of the greater Caribbean: Colombia, Venezeula, and the five Caribbean Central American countries.

Including these countries would add 155 indigenous Amerindian (of diverse families), 4 creole languages, 2 immigrant languages, and 5 sign languages to the number below. The 59 languages include: 22 indigenous Amerindian languages (10 Carib, including Carib, 7 Arawak, 2 Tupi, 3 Mayan), all spoken in the continental Caribbean 5 European languages 21 creole languages (15 English-lexicon, 4 French-lexicon, 1 Iberian-lexicon, and 1 Dutch-lexicon, on the verge of extinction), mostly in the insular Caribbean 4 immigrant languages that came with their speakers during the mid-19th century, post-emancipation 4 sign languages, and 3 unclassified languages. Creole languages include Haitian Kreyol, St. Lucian Kwéyòl, Papiamentu, Antiguan Creole, Belize Kriol, Jamaican Creole/Patois, Guyanese Creolese, Vincentian Creole, and Berbice Dutch (on the verge of extinction).

The post-emancipation languages are Bhojpuri , Javanese, Hakka, and Yoruba. (See below for other languages that were spoken in the West Indies in the past.) Q14. What is an 'endangered language'? A. Check out the SIL pages , as well as our Links page for more info. Q15. How many languages were spoken in the Caribbean in times past? A. There were several Amerindian, European, African, Asian and Caribbean creole languages, many of which are no longer spoken in the region. Some have disappeared altogether, such as Taino, Island Carib (an Arawakan language), Yao, and other indigenous Amerindian languages. Arawak languages related to Taino and Island Carib continue to be spoken in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua ( Garífuna or Black Carib), Venezuela (Paraujano), and Colombia (Wayuu).

Other languages have also disappeared, including colonial European languages such as Danish; African languages such as Twi, Ewe-Fon, Hausa and Kikongo; creole languages such as Negerhollands and Skepi Dutch Creole; and more recent immigrant languages such as Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese , German , and Arabic. Of the latter group, Portuguese and Arabic are disappearing slowly but surely, and Bhojpuri, to a lesser extent. These languages are mostly obsolescent, as the majority of their remaining speakers are bilingual and fluent speakers of their country's official and national and vernacular languages. Q16. Which Caribbean language has the majority of speakers? A. Spanish, with over 22 million speakers, mostly in the Greater Antilles, followed by French and French Creole (over 8 million speakers of mostly French Creole), English and English Creole (over 6 million speakers, mostly in the Lesser Antilles), and Dutch (about half a million speakers). Figure 3 Spanish is spoken mainly in four (4) territories, including Belize, and also in the ABC islands off Venezuela.

The ABC islands are home to Papiamentu, an Iberian creole (mainly Portuguese vocabulary, with more and more influence from Spanish). English is spoken in at least twenty (20) territories, including Puerto Rico and St. Martin/Sint Maarten. Four English-lexicon creoles are spoken in Dutch-official Suriname. French-lexicon creoles (called Patois especially in the anglophone, and also the francophone, territories) are spoken in seven insular territories and four continental territories. The former include Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Lucia and Trinidad, all former French territories (except for Trinidad which, though not politically colonised by France, was socioculturally influenced by the French and French Creoles). The four continental territories include French Guiana, Brazil, the USA (Louisiana) and Venezuela (through contact with Trinidadians and St. Lucians). Guyana also has a fair number of French Creole-speaking communities of St. Lucian origin. Q17. How many creole languages are spoken in the Caribbean today? A.

There are almost as many creole languages as there are islands and territories, and possibly more, depending on the definition and delineation of different dialects of the creoles. There are, however, no creole languages to be found in the insular Hispanic Caribbean, only Palenquero in the continental Caribbean, namely Colombia. The following chart shows the number of creole languages of the Caribbean, insular and continental (including Karipúna/Galibi and Amapá French Creole of Brazil, and Venezuelan French Creole), according to the Ethnologue.com . Figure 4 Q18. Do all English, French and Dutch-speaking Caribbean people speak a creole as a mother tongue? A. No, this is a stereotype. There are significant Caribbean-born minorities that do not speak a creole language as a mother tongue and/or second language, though members of these groups may be either a) quite proficient in the variety of their territory according to the situation and context, or b) passive bilinguals.

The vast majority of West Indians in anglophone, francophone and Dutch-speaking islands do speak the creole language of their territory as a mother tongue, and these Creole speakers may or may not be fluent in the official language of their territory. Most Caribbean varieties of English are as old as Early Modern English, the period in the history of English (1500-1700) when Modern English began to undergo standardisation. These varieties of English belong more to the 'inner circle' than the 'outer circle' by Crystal's definition (Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language), but the situation is probably much more complex than this. Up to the 1960s, since anglophone Caribbean territories began to gain independence from 1962 onward, most varieties of Caribbean English were identified with British English, because of politics, and despite linguistic differences (some conservative, some progressing in different directions). They have been distinct from modern British English for a long time, some as long as American English has been distinct from British English, others not quite as old. (Antiguan and Barbadian English, in fact, contributed to the development of some varieites of southern U.S.

English.) Over four decades later, it is clear that these varieties of English in the Caribbean are separate standards, differing from each other and from non-Caribbean varieties mainly at the levels of phonology and lexicon. At the orthographic level, Commonwealth spelling is still preferred. Linguistic situations of the Caribbean are, like most language situations around the world, quite complex. It is difficult to say who is monolingual, bilingual, monodialectal, bidialectal, etc., in strict terms. There are also issues of non-standard varieties of English co-existing with English-lexicon creoles and standard varieties of English. While English-lexicon creoles and standard dialects of English may seem to be quite different from each other (in aspects of phonology and grammar), both varieties share a great deal with non-standard dialects of English! In referring to English, many substitute "Standard" or "the Standard," but English is far more than just one standardised variety. A term such as Guyanese English refers to the English (usually standard) of that territory, not the creole language. Q19. Where can I get a creole language map of the Caribbean? A.

See SIL's Caribbean Creole Language Maps , prepared by SIL and SCL members Ken Decker and David Holbrook. More language maps to come. Of interest is the Atlas of the Languages of Suriname , by Eithne B. Carlin and Jacques Arends ( Ian Randle Publishers , 2003). Q20. What are the origins of Caribbean creole languages? A. See below for a discussion on creoles. (More to come on the history of language contact in the Caribbean.) Q21. What is the working language of the SCL? A. English by default, because the majority of our members are native anglophones or fluent in English. All of our publications (so far) are in English. However, any one of the official Caribbean languages (Dutch, English, French, Haitian, Papiamentu and Spanish) is an official SCL language. Several papers have been presented in French at SCL conferences and one in Trinidad & Tobago Sign Language.

Question: Colombia's shores are in the Caribbean Sea and which other body of water?
Answer: Pacific Ocean