The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of just from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the highest coastal range in the tropics, and one of the highest coastal ranges in the world, being shorter than the Saint Elias Mountains in Canada. The Sierra Nevada encompasses about and serves as the source of 36 rivers. The range is in the Departments of Magdalena, Cesar and

La Guajira La Guajira () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The capital city of the departm ...

. The highest point of the Sierra Nevada group (and Colombia in general) may be either Pico Cristóbal Colón or

Pico Simón Bolívar Pico Simón Bolívar is the second highest mountain in Colombia, with an estimated height of . Pico Bolívar and the neighbouring summit of Pico Cristóbal Colón are the two highest peaks in Colombia and are very nearly equal in elevation. The ...

, both in the municipalities of Santa Marta and

Aracataca Aracataca (colloquially sometimes referred to as "''Cataca''") is a municipality located in the Department of Magdalena, in Colombia's Caribbean Region. Aracataca is a river town founded in 1885. The town stands beside the river of the same nam ...

; it has yet to be determined which is higher. SRTM data and local topographic maps show that their true elevations are approximately , lower than the elevation that is often quoted. The Sierra Nevada is a compact group, relatively small in area, and completely surrounded by lands with elevations below . Although it is associated with the Tropical Andes, the main backbone of the Andes cannot be reached from the Sierra Nevada without dropping below this level. This makes its highest point the world's fifth most prominent summit. Several peaks in the Sierra Nevada are intervisible with Cerro Paramillo, a peak in Antioquia Department. This implies a theoretical direct line of sight of just over , reported to be the longest between any two points on the surface of the Earth.

Climate

It is calculated that the yearly average rainfall is at elevations of . The temperature varies between .

Biodiversity

The tropical rainforest is made up of perennial trees, with a canopy reaching between . There is a great variety and large populations of epiphytes and lianas, and more than 3,000 species of

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They ...

s are found in the area. The indigenous peoples made an alcoholic beverage from fruits of the palm '' Attalea maripa'' found at the lower elevations. Of Colombia's 340 endemic species, 44 are found in the park, for example seven species of endemic hummingbirds. Of the 3,057 endangered species, 44 are found here. The area is home to 440 species of birds, including black-fronted wood-quail,

king vulture The king vulture (''Sarcoramphus papa'') is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexic ...

Andean condor The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a giant South American Cathartid vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the larg ...

, Santa Marta warbler and Santa Marta parakeet. Mammals found in the park include: tapir, cougar, jaguar, squirrel, '' Transandinomys talamancae'', otter, and brocket deer. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is home to a number of

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

s, which vary with elevation. The Guajira–Barranquilla xeric scrub region lies near the Caribbean seacoast to the north of the range. The Sinú Valley dry forests cover the range's lower slopes, up to an elevation of . The Santa Marta montane forests lie above . The montane forests are separated from other moist forests by the lower-elevation dry forests and xeric shrublands, and have large numbers of

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species. The montane forest ecoregion has several distinct plant communities, distinguished by altitude and rainfall; moist lowland forests cover the windward northern and western flanks of the range between , and the drier eastern and southern flanks from . Above is a transitional forest zone of smaller trees and palms. Cloud forests occur above ; the Sub-Andean forests from form a canopy tall, while the higher-elevation Andean forests, between , grow to in height. The

Santa Marta Páramo The Santa Marta páramo (NT1007) is an ecoregion containing páramo (high moorland) vegetation above the treeline in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The isolated position of the range has allowed ...

, a high altitude belt of

montane grasslands and shrublands Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than th ...

interspersed with marshes and acid bogs, occupies the zone between . The Santa Marta Páramo is the northernmost enclave of Páramo in South America, which occur along the Andes belt. Above lies the permanent snow cap.

National Natural Park

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park ( es, Parque Nacional Natural Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta) is Colombia's second oldest national park, established in 1964. It is located in the Cordillera Oriental range, between the departments of

, Magdalena and Cesar, in the mountain range of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. It is a sanctuary as well as a tourist attraction, because it offers different climate, terrain, flora and fauna environments, ranging from beaches to snowy mountain peaks. Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park is considered a unique place in the world, due to its isolation from the Andes, and its highest peak ( above sea level) is located just away from the sea. All the water courses that originate in the national park drain to the Caribbean sea whether directly (e. g. rivers Ranchería, Don Diego, Palomino, Buritaca, Guachaca, Cañas, etc.) or through the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; 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 ...

system that includes the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, (e.g. rivers Cesar, Ariguaní, Fundación, Frío, Aracataca, etc.). Roughly 1.2 million people are dependent upon the freshwater supplied by the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta rivers. There are currently about 30,000

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of the ethnic groups Koguis, Arhuacos, Kankuamos and Wiwa living in the area. This park is also home to the remnants of the

Tairona Culture Tairona (or Tayrona) was a Pre-Columbian culture of Colombia, which consisted in a group of chiefdoms in the region of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in present-day Cesar, Magdalena and La Guajira Departments of Colombia, South America, which g ...

. In 1979, the park was designated a

Biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. A 2013 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on the world's most irreplaceable protected areas identified the park as the most irreplaceable park in the world for threatened species.

Geology

It is composed of

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

metamorphic rocks (predominantly

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

s and

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

es) and quartzdioritic intrusives of Tertiary age. The Quaternary of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is mainly represented by colluvial-

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. All ...

valley fill and by recent beach deposits. The coastlines of the northwestern part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta are indented, reflecting the alternation of rocky headlands and deep, north-northwest trending

tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...

ally controlled bays. The headlands are typically cliffs cut into schists and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

s, whereas the

embayment A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

s front alluvial valley deposits. The bay shores are typically steep, reflective beaches composed of very coarse sand to granules eroded from adjacent cliffs and alluvial deposits. Wide pocket beaches and

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. A tombolo, from the Italian ', meaning 'pillow' or 'cushion', and sometimes translated incorrectly as ''ayre'' (an ayre is a shingle beach of any kind), is a deposition landform by which an island becom ...

s are common along sectors with abundant rocky erosional remnants and stacks.

Fauna

Three species of reptiles which are native to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta are named after it: '' Anolis santamartae'', a lizard; '' Atractus sanctaemartae'', a snake; and '' Lepidoblepharis sanctaemartae'', a lizard.

Inhabitants

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is home to the remnants of the Native American

; Arhuacos, Koguis, Wiwas and Kankuamos, that live in ''Resguardos Indigenas'' (indigenous reserves) located in the mid-highlands.

Recent access problems

For the last ten years, access to the highest summits has been very difficult, and this situation continues

although there is a documented ascent of Pico Cristóbal Colón in December 2015. This was due to opposition from locals in the southern side of the mountain to aid and allow climbers to explore the place. Their aid and permission is important for success in the summit. Colombian conflict, Armed turmoil has also proven to hinder access to the place, notwithstanding the peace process carried on since 2016. The only safe and relatively straight forward access is from Santa Marta city to Cuchillo de San Lorenzo, but that is only to (although it provides excellent views of the peaks).

References

External links

*http://www.colombia.com/colombiainfo/parquesnaturales/sierranevada.asp * * * * *
Case study by Fundación Pró-Sierra Nevada de Santa MartaThe Guardian
com: "The Lure of Colombia's Lost City" (2009)]
Royal Geography Society − Hidden Journeys project: "Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta − Sampling the food cultures of northern Colombia with hungry cyclist Tom Kevill-Davies"
— ''audio slideshow''. {{authority control Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Santa Marta National parks of Colombia Geography of Cesar Department Geography of La Guajira Department Geography of Magdalena Department Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Biosphere reserves of Colombia Protected areas established in 1964 1964 establishments in Colombia Ecoregions of Colombia Páramos Tourist attractions in Cesar Department Tourist attractions in La Guajira Department Tourist attractions in Magdalena Department Magdalena River World Heritage Tentative List for Colombia