Colombia stretches over approximately 1,140,000 sq. km, roughly equal to the area of Portugal , Spain , and France put together. Colombia occupies the northwestern end of South America, and is the only country there with coasts on both the Pacific ( 1350 km long), and the Atlantic (over 1600 km .) Three Andean ranges run north and south through the western half of the country (about 45% of the total territory). The eastern part is a vast lowland which can be generally divided into two regions: a huge open savannah on the north, and the amazon in the south (400,000 sq. km aprox).

Colombia is a country of geographical contrasts and extremes. As well as the features mentioned, it has such curiosities as the desert of La Guajira, the peninsula in the most norh-eastern tip of the country; the jungle of the pacific coast which holds one of the world's rainfall records; and finally the Serranía de la Macarena, an isolated mountain formation about 120 km . long, rising abruptly from the eastern plains to some 2500 meters .

Colombia also has several small islands. The major ones are the archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia in the Caribbean Sea, the Islas del Rosario and San Bernardo along the Caribeean coast and Gorgona and Malpelo in the Pacific Ocean .

Muisca raft (offering)
The Muiscas held great ceremonies from time to time on the moorland lakes. The people gathered under the leadership of their chieftains and priests, to make offerings to the gods. Legend has it that the El Dorado ritual was celebrated on some of these occasions: a very powerful chieftain, accompanied by his priests, sailed on a raft into the middle of the lake and threw emeralds and gold into the water.

                                     (600 - 1600 dC)