colombia
Colombia is a country situated in the northwest of Southern America with borders to five countries, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil and Panama.
It is the third largest Spanish country behind Mexico and Spain and has 45 million inhabitants, making it the second largest country in South America.
Originally inhabited by three main tribes, the Muisca, Quimbaya and the Tairona, Colombia was invaded by the Spanish in the 1400s. Over the next 4 centuries much civil unrest was seen across the region and Colombia saw much iteration to its boundaries. The Colombia we know now was formed around 1886.
Whilst it has the fourth largest economy in South America, there is still a massive gap between the rich and the poor, in 2009 it was estimated that around 46% of the population lived under the poverty line.
When the Spanish arrived they bought with them African slaves, so the country is ethnically very diverse, with a mix of white Europeans, indigenous tribes folk and black Africans all adding to a rich culture.
Most of the main population colonies are situated in the Andes Mountains where there are rich soils and good drainage and water supplies.
It is believed that the name Colombia comes from Christopher Colombus as a nod to the new world and the countries that he discovered.
Geologically the country is very exciting, it sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe shaped area around the edge of the pacific which is notoriously volcanically active. The area is regularly hit by volcanoes and earthquakes as it sits on the edge of two colliding plates. Colombia has 15 known active volcanoes and in 1985 the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz caused the death of 23,000 people.
The Amazon in Colombia is suffering from human deforestation and the use of fossil fuels in urban areas is causing massive pollution. The cities are growing so rapidly that the infrastructure is not able to fully support the extra weight so local water courses are struggling with contamination from human waste and the extra pull on the natural resources.
The country is governed by a President who has a Vice President and a Council of Ministers. The president is elected on a four yearly cycle like in the United States of America and the maximum term is 2 cycles.