The watershed of the western Andes and the Pacific lowlands is an extremely rich
region, isolated for many years, constituting the Chocó biodiversity hotspot. The
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the highest coastal mountain in the world, is an
isolated mountain in the Caribbean, rising 5,500 m above the hot deserts of the
Guajira Peninsula (Díaz and Acero 2003).
However, with nearly 1,000,000 km
2 of territorial waters, nearly half the territory of Colombia is maritime. It is the only South American country with coasts
on both the tropical Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, with a total shoreline of
nearly 3,000 km. Because Colombia possesses oceanic islands located far offshore, wide sections of both the tropical eastern Pacific and the southern-central
Caribbean are included within the boundaries of its Economic Exclusive Zone
(Fig. 5.1).
Fig. 5.1 Location of the land and sea areas of Colombia (System Information Laboratory
LABSIS-INVEMAR)
146
M. Benavides-Serrato et al.
region, isolated for many years, constituting the Chocó biodiversity hotspot. The
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the highest coastal mountain in the world, is an
isolated mountain in the Caribbean, rising 5,500 m above the hot deserts of the
Guajira Peninsula (Díaz and Acero 2003).
However, with nearly 1,000,000 km
2 of territorial waters, nearly half the territory of Colombia is maritime. It is the only South American country with coasts
on both the tropical Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, with a total shoreline of
nearly 3,000 km. Because Colombia possesses oceanic islands located far offshore, wide sections of both the tropical eastern Pacific and the southern-central
Caribbean are included within the boundaries of its Economic Exclusive Zone
(Fig. 5.1).
Fig. 5.1 Location of the land and sea areas of Colombia (System Information Laboratory
LABSIS-INVEMAR)
146
M. Benavides-Serrato et al.