The Cordillera Occidental ( en, Western Ranges) is the lowest in elevation of the three branches of the

Colombian Andes The Andean region, located in central Colombia, is the most populated natural region of Colombia. With many mountains, the Andes contain most of the country's urban centers.Colombian Massif The Colombian Massif (from the Spanish Macizo Colombiano), also known colloquially as ''Nudo de Almaguer'', refers to a group of mountains within the Andes of south central Colombia. The massif is mainly within the area of the Cauca, Huila, and ...

in Nariño Department, passes north through Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Chocó, and Caldas Departments to the

Paramillo Massif The Paramillo Massif (''Nudo de Paramillo'') is a mountain range of the Tropical Andes System, located at the northern end of the Cordillera Occidental (West Andes) range in Colombia. Geography Administratively, the Paramillo Massif is located i ...

in Antioquia and Córdoba Departments. From this massif the range divides further to form the Serranías de Ayapel, San Jerónimo and Abibe. Only to recede into the Caribbean plain and the

Sinú River Sinú River (), is a river in northwestern Colombia that flows mostly through the Córdoba Department and into the Caribbean. The river is the third most important river after the Magdalena River and the Cauca River in the Caribbean Region. It i ...

valley.

Pico de Loro en el PNN Farallones de Cali-Colombia

Geography

The western part of the mountain range belongs to the

Pacific region of Colombia The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and its

Chocó–Darién moist forests The Chocó–Darién moist forests (NT0115) is an ecoregion in the west of Colombia and east of Panama. The region has extremely high rainfall, and the forests hold great biodiversity. The northern and southern parts of the ecoregion have been cons ...

ecoregion, with the San Juan River being the main watershed, while the eastern part belongs to the

Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangue in Bolivar Department, and th ...

basin. The northern and northwestern parts belong to the Atlantic Slope, with the

Atrato Atrato is a municipality and town in the Chocó Department near the Pacific Ocean, Colombia. Climate Atrato has an extremely wet tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a trop ...

and Sinú Rivers being the main watersheds. The Cordillera Occidental is separated from the coastal Baudó Mountains by the

Atrato River The Atrato River () is a river of northwestern Colombia. It rises in the slopes of the Western Cordillera and flows almost due north to the Gulf of Urabá (or Gulf of Darién), where it forms a large, swampy delta. Its course crosses the Cho ...

Highest peaks

* Cerro Tatamá – – Chocó & Risaralda *

Azufral Azufral is a stratovolcano located in the department of Nariño in southern Colombia, west of the town of Túquerres. It is the only volcano of the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes. Its name derives from the Spanish word for sulfur, ''az ...

– – Nariño *

Farallones de Cali Farallones de Cali is a cluster of mountains in the West Andes of Colombia. It is located west of the city of Cali and gives rise to many of the rivers that provide water and electricity to Cali. The PNN Farallones de Cali encompasses in the ...

– – Valle del Cauca *

Farallones del Citará The Farallones del Citará are situated in the mountains of southwest Antioquia, Colombia, only miles from the border with neighboring Chocó. The area contains two rivers, the Citará river and the Atrato river. The chain of mountains in the ...

– – Antioquia * Páramo de Frontino – – Antioquia * Cerro Caramanta – – Antioquia, Caldas & Risaralda * Cerro Napi – – Cauca * Alto Musinga – – Antioquia * Cerro Calima – – Valle del Cauca * Cerro Paramillo – – Antioquia * Cerro Ventana – – Valle del Cauca & Chocó

Protected areas

The West Andes have the following nationally protected areas from south to north: * PNN Munchique * PNN Farallones de Cali * PNN Tatamá * PNN Las Orquídeas * PNN Paramillo Other areas under consideration for national protection include: *

Serranía del Pinche The Serranía del Pinche are part of the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The mountains consist of several high peaks with small patches of isolated páramo and provide a corridor between the Pacific and Andean biogeographic regions. It is ...

* Serranía de los Paraguas

Locally protected areas

Yotoco Forest Reserve Yotoco is a town and municipality located in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Car ...

* Bitaco River Forest Reserve

Recreation areas

Dapa DAPA may refer to: * Defense Acquisition Program Administration, an executive branch of the South Korean government * Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, a U.S. deferred action In United States administrative law, deferred action is an immigr ...

Calima Lake Calima Lake ( es, Lago Calima) is the largest artificial lake in Colombia and the American continent (South, Central and North America) with an area of 70 km2. It is located in the municipality of Darién in the Valle del Cauca Department. ...

References

{{Mountain Ranges of Colombia Mountain ranges of the Andes