COLOMBIA

US

Colombia  in  forming  a  union  of  these  republics, ­
  which  could  not  be  held  together  after  the
death  of  the  founder,  in  1830.  On  the  dissolution ­
  of  this  body  of  states,  the  Republic  of
New  Granada  came  to  light  November  17,
1831,  this  title  being  changed  to  the  United
States  of  Colombia  in  1863.
Colombia  covers  an  area  of  438,436  square
miles,  and  like  the  United  States  enjoys  the
unique  advantage  of  having  a  coast  line  on  two
oceans—the  Caribbean  Sea  to  the  northwest
being  part  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  on
the  south  and  west.  Ecuador  and  Peru  form
her  southern  boundary,  Brazil  and  Venezuela
are  on  her  eastern  frontier,  while  Venezuela
stretches  across  much  of  her  northern  limits,
and  the  Republic  of  Panama  is  the  only  land
on  the  west.
Colombia  is  a  land  of  mountains,  plateaus
and  wide  plains.  To  the  east  and  south  are
large  areas  of  level  ground  known  as  "llanos  ”
or  “selvas,”  covered  with  grass  and  tropical
growths  including  virgin  forests.  This  section ­
  has  enormous  rainfalls,  is  very  warm,  un ­