COLOMBIA

”9

The  Atrato  River,  which  rises  in  the  foothills ­
  of  the  Andes  and  empties  into  the  Gulf
of  Darien,  an  arm  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  and
which  England  threatened  to  make  into  a
canal  connecting  the  two  oceans  if  not  given
special  privileges  in  the  Panama  Canal,  is
navigable  for  about  225  of  its  350  miles.  The
largest  river  on  the  Pacific  side  is  the  San
Juan,  being  navigable  for  150  of  its  200  or
more  miles.  The  rivers  emptying  into  the
Amazon  are  navigable  for  canoes  and  lighters,
but  are  so  remote  and  in  such  a  sparsely  populated ­
  region  as  to  be  negligible  quantities  in
this  connection.
Agricultural  experts  estimate  that  only  onethird
  of  Colombia  is  susceptible  of  cultivation, ­
  the  eastern  part  being  swampy  and  the
high  mountain  lands  incapable  of  sustaining
any  growth,  especially  at  an  elevation  of
13,000  feet.  The  belt  of  coast  lands  with  the
plateau  regions  can  be  made  highly  productive. ­

Coffee  is  perhaps  the  largest  crop  grown,  in
1913  the  output  being  nearly  53,993  tons  val ­