The Paramillo Massif (''Nudo de Paramillo'') is a mountain range of the

Tropical Andes The Tropical Andes is northern of the three climate-delineated parts of the Andes, the others being the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes. The Tropical Andes' area spans . Geography and ecology file:Andes_clima.png, 200px, Map of the climatic regio ...

System, located at the northern end of the Cordillera Occidental (West Andes) range in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Geography

Administratively, the Paramillo Massif is located in the municipalities of

Ituango Ituango is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. It is part of the subregion of Northern Antioquia Northern Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is made up of 17 municipal ...

and Peque in

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

; and

Puerto Libertador Puerto Libertador () is a town and municipality located in the Córdoba Department, northern Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular ...

and Tierralta in Córdoba Department. The municipalities that surround this

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

are

Chigorodó Chigorodó () is a town and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia. It is part of the Urabá Antioquia sub-region. Residents * Jaime Castañeda, cyclist Climate Chigorodó has a tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest clima ...

, Mutatá,

Tarazá Taraza is a town and municipality in the Bajo Cauca subregion of Antioquia Department, Colombia. It lies from the city of Medellín, the departmental capital, and has a land area of . The municipality was separated from the municipality of Cá ...

, Cáceres and Caucasia in Antioquia. This massif is intervisible with several peaks in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

, e.g. Pico Simón Bolívar 5,700 m (18,700 ft) in the north of Colombia. This implies a theoretical direct line of sight of just over 500 km (310 mi), reported to be the longest between any two points on the surface of the Earth.

Subranges

This mountainous region gives rise to three smaller ranges that spread northward and recede into the Caribbean plain. *The Abibe Mountains (''Serranía de Abibe'') form a natural border between the

and

Córdoba Department Córdoba (, ) is a Department of the Republic of Colombia located to the north of this country in the Colombian Caribbean Region. Córdoba faces to the north with the Caribbean Sea, to the northeast with the Sucre Department, east with the Bol ...

. *The San Jerónimo Mountains (''Serranía de San Jerónimo'') separates the watersheds of the

San Jorge River The San Jorge River is a river in Colombia that begins in National Park Paramillo (departments of Antioquia and Córdoba) and that runs between the mountains of San Geronimo and Ayapel before flowing into the River Cauca in Sucre Department. ...

and

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

. *The Ayapel Mountains (''Serranía de Ayapel'') divides the watersheds of the San Jorge and Cauca Rivers, as well as forming a natural border between Antioquia and Córdoba Departments.

Paramillo Natural National Park

Most of the area is within the Paramillo Natural National Park, which extends from the massif into the lowlands of the Caribbean Plain. The ecosystems found within the massif are characteristic of the

which include

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 ...

and

mountain forests Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

. It is one of two regions where the bird Paramillo tapaculo (''Scytalopus canus''), an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, is found. One of the massif's highland mammal species is the vulnerable Spectacled bear (''Tremarctos ornatus'').

References

{{Mountain Ranges of Colombia Mountain ranges of Colombia Tropical Andes Geography of Antioquia Department Geography of Córdoba Department Mountain ranges of the Andes Northwestern Andean montane forests