Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in
the Gulf of Venezuela; territorial dispute with Nicaragua over
Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain: flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes
Mountains, eastern lowland plains
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel,
gold, copper, emeralds
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 29% forest and woodland: 49% other: 16%
Irrigated land: 5,150 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil damage from overuse of pesticides;
air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions
natural hazards: highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional
earthquakes; periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not
ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change,
Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note: only South American country with coastlines on both North
Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea
@Colombia:People