The Cordillera Oriental () is the widest 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 in
Huila Department
Huila () is one of the departments of Colombia. It is located in the southwest of the country, and its capital is Neiva.
Demography and Ethnography
Huila department had a population of 1,122,622 inhabitants in 2020, of which 679,667 (60.54%) ...
to
Norte de Santander Department
Norte de Santander (Spanish for Northern Santander) () is a departments of Colombia, department of northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities.
Norte ...
where it splits into the
Serranía del Perijá
The Serranía del Perijá, Cordillera de Perijá or Sierra de Perijá is a mountain range, an extension of the eastern Andean branch ( Cordillera Oriental), in northern South America, between Colombia and Venezuela, ending further north in the ...
and the
Cordillera de Mérida
The Cordillera de Mérida is a mountain range, or massif, in northwestern Venezuela. The Cordillera de Mérida is a northeastern extension of the Andes Mountains and the most important branch of the Venezuelan Andes. The range runs approximately 4 ...
in
Venezuelan Andes
The Venezuelan Andes (Spanish: ''Andes Venezolanos'') also simply known as the Andes (Spanish: ''Los Andes'') in Venezuela, are a mountain system that form the northernmost extension of the Andes. They are fully identified, both by their geologi ...
Sierra Nevada del Cocuy
The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Chita or Guican National Natural Park (or Sierra Nevada de Chita or Sierra Nevada de Güicán, is a national park and a series of highlands and glaciated peaks located within the Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Cordill ...
.
Geography
The western part of the Cordillera Oriental belongs to the
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River (, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, ...
basin, while the eastern part includes the river basins of the Amazon River,
Orinoco River
The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...
, and
Catatumbo River
The Catatumbo River () is a river rising in northern Colombia, flowing into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. The Catatumbo River is approximately long. It forms a part of the international boundary between the two countries.
The river flows through ...
. Within it, the
Altiplano Cundiboyacense
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. (Do not confuse with The Altiplano or the Altiplano Nariñense, both fur ...
and the
Sierra Nevada del Cocuy
The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Chita or Guican National Natural Park (or Sierra Nevada de Chita or Sierra Nevada de Güicán, is a national park and a series of highlands and glaciated peaks located within the Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Cordill ...
(with the only snowy peaks in this mountain range) stand out. The mountain range contains the most
páramo
Páramo () may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
covers the eastern slopes of the cordillera and its northern end. The
Magdalena Valley montane forests
The Magdalena Valley montane forests (NT0136) is an ecoregion in the Andes mountains of central Colombia.
Geography Location
The ecoregion covers the higher land on both sides of the valley of the Magdalena River in the Colombian Andes.
The ri ...
cover the western slopes. The
Northern Andean páramo
The Northern Andean páramo (NT1006) is an ecoregion containing páramo vegetation above the treeline in the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador.
In the past, when the climate was cooler, the treeline and the páramo units were lower and the units were c ...
Chingaza National Natural Park
Chingaza National Natural Park () is located in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, northeast of Bogotá, Colombia in the departments of Cundinamarca and Meta. The elevation in the park, to the east of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, rang ...
Sierra Nevada del Cocuy
The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Chita or Guican National Natural Park (or Sierra Nevada de Chita or Sierra Nevada de Güicán, is a national park and a series of highlands and glaciated peaks located within the Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Cordill ...
*
Sumapaz Páramo
Sumapaz Páramo (Spanish: ''Páramo de Sumapaz'' - meaning "Utterly peaceful moorland" ) is a large páramo ecosystem located in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense mountain range, considered the largest páramo ecosystem in the world. It was decla ...
Geography of Colombia
The Republic of Colombia is situated largely in the north-west of South America, with some territories falling within the boundaries of Central America. It is bordered to the north-west by Panama; to the east by Brazil and Venezuela; to the sou ...
*
Altiplano Cundiboyacense
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. (Do not confuse with The Altiplano or the Altiplano Nariñense, both fur ...
,
Bogotá savanna
The Bogotá savanna is a savanna#Savanna ecoregions, montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is si ...
,
Tenza Valley
The Tenza Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Tenza'') is an intermontane valley in the Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The valley stretches over the southeastern part of the departments of Colomb ...
*
Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands.
Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges:
* Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America
** ...
Venezuelan Andes
The Venezuelan Andes (Spanish: ''Andes Venezolanos'') also simply known as the Andes (Spanish: ''Los Andes'') in Venezuela, are a mountain system that form the northernmost extension of the Andes. They are fully identified, both by their geologi ...
, continuation of this mountain system
*
List of mountains in Colombia
Highest mountains
This is a list of the known highest mountains in Colombia, with an elevation of at least 4000 meters above sea level and a topographic prominence of at least 200 meters. Note that there may be other mountains that satisfy these ...