2. Location

3. Geography
Colombia is the fourth
largest country in South America.
Colombia has an area of 440,000
square miles, which is about the
size of Texas and California
combined. On the western side of
Colombia there are three parallel
mountain chains running from
north to south which are part of
the Andes mountain range. The
western side of Colombia mostly
consists of central highlands and
flat grasslands. On the other
hand, the eastern side of
Colombia is mostly low and
jungle covered plains. Also, two
major rivers that run through
Colombia is the Amazon River
and the Orinoco River.

4. Government
Colombia is a republic country, it gained its independence
from Spain on July 20th,1810. Just like the United States,
Colombia has three branches of government; the Executive
branch, the Legislative branch, and the Judicial branch. Some of
the major political parties of Colombia include Colombian
Conservative Party, Colombian Liberal Party and, Social Party of
National Unity. The current president of Colombia is Juan Manuel
Santos as of last year. To be able to vote in political elections in
Colombia you will have to be at least 18 years old.

5. Money
The official currency of Colombia are
the Colombian pesos. The official
abbreviation is COP (ISO 4217) but the more
common one is COL$. Colombian currency
has the $100 peso coin which has the
Colombian Coat of Arms on it, $200 with the
quimbaya which represents the head of four
birds, and there's the $500 with the Guacari
tree. There are also the $1,000, 2,000,
5,000, 10,000, 20,000, and 50,000 bill. On
the bills are Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, a leader;
General Francisco De Paula Santander, the
poet; José Asunción Silva; a heroine of the
Colombian Independence, Policarpa
Salavarrieta; a famous scientist, Julio
Garavito Armero; and lastly, on the 50,000
peso bill, the writer, Jorge Isaac. Although,
the bills sound like large amounts of money,
$50,000 peso is only about $27.

6. Natural Resources
Colombia's natural resources include
coal, natural gas, precious metals, such as
gold, silver and platinum, and gems.  Coal
Colombia is now the tenth largest coal-
producing country, it is also one of the
largest coal exporting country in the
world. Colombia is the largest coal
producing country in Latin America with
over 70 million tons in 2010. In 2010,
Colombia's average natural gas
production was over one million cubic
feet a day. Colombia also produces many Silver, Gold and Platinum
precious metals, over 50 tons of gold,
over 15 tons of silver, and over a ton of
platinum in 2010. Colombia is also the
world's top producer of gems, it is famous
for producing emeralds and has produced  Emeralds
over five million carats last year only.

7. School
In Colombia school is free, and
mandatory for the first five years. Students in
Colombia go through eleven years of school,
not including nursery school or kindergarten,
to get a high school diploma. Most of the
schools in Colombia are private schools, not
because most families in Colombia are
wealthy, but because public schools are harder
to get into. To get into a public school you
will need good grades, excellent academic
performance and be able to maintain this.
Since Colombia has a climate difference,
cities can start schools at different times.
Cities can either start school in January and
end in November, or August and end in June.
In Colombia the school year is divided into
four equal periods. Grades are from 0 to 10,
getting below a 6 results in failing a class, and
failing more than three times in a year results
in being left back.

8. Families
Traditionally, mothers are the
head of a low class family in
Colombia. Aside from the lower
classes, fathers were the heads of
the family and was responsible for
earning a majority or the family's
income. When the men were the
head of a family, the women was
did the cooking, housework, and
raised the children. Traditionally,
upper class women were not
allowed to work, they were only
allowed to do some volunteer
service. Also, when a child was
being baptized, the parents usually
chose godparents, called padrinos.

9. Tourist Attractions
There are many things you
could do in Colombia. Some of the
most famous tourist attractions in
Colombia include scuba diving
around Cartagena; listening to
Colombia music, and salsa dancing
in Medellin, famous for its nightlife
and culture; visiting the Gold
Museum and Botero Museum in
Bogota, the capital of Colombia; and
diving into the crystal clear waters of
San Andreas, in the Caribbean.
Also, you could visit the Colombian
Amazon which is the largest tropical
forest in the world, or go humpback
whale watching on the Pacific coast
of Colombia.

10. History
The first Spanish settlement, of
Colombia, was Santa Marta found in
1525. In 1538, Santa Fe de Bogota was
found, Bogota became the capital of
Viceroyalty of New Granada.
Viceroyalty of New Granada included
present day Venezuela, Ecuador, and
Panama. Simon Bolivar became the
first president, later, in 1858 a new
nation, The Republic of Gran
Colombia was formed after wars of
independence were fought. Then in
1948 an assassination of Liberal leader
Jorge Eliecer Gaitan became known as
La Violencia (The Violence). An
alliance was formed in July 1957
though, eventually the countries
separated from Gran Colombia and
Colombia became its own country.

11. Food
There are many types of
Colombian food, of course. There's
the arepa; which is basically bread
made from cornmeal, and is similar
to a pancake. There's the Arroz con
Coco; which is coconut rice
pudding, which is white rice cooked
in coconut milk with water, salt, and
sugar. There is also changua which
is creamy soup made with milk,
eggs, water, and scallions.
Empanadas are also a big part of
the Colombian meal, empanadas
are usually filled with beef or
chicken, rice, coriander, and
sometimes cheese. Pandebonos are
also popular in Colombia, they're
bread usually made with corn flour,
cheese, and eggs. Tamales and
patacones are also popular in
Colombia.

12. My Opinion
After going to Colombia, I think
Colombia is a great country. There are
many fascinating things about it. The parts
I enjoyed the most, during my stay at
Colombia, were being able to dive and the
wonderful beaches. Colombia had crystal
clear water and as the sun shone brightly,
sunlight reflected off of the water surface.
Diving into the water was another cool
experience, when underwater it was like a
whole other world. Surrounding yourself
with the wide ocean is just amazing, there
are tiny fishes swimming all around, and
underwater plants covering the ocean floor.
Overall, I think Colombia is a wonderful
country to live in, or to take a trip to.