Building Earth’s Landscapes

Colombia is formed be two territorial zones, one submerged in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea and the second, is emerged land which is formed by the Andes Mountain Range.

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes mountain chain that runs through North Eastern Colombia. It is between two national parks (the Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Tayrona National Park). The mountain range is also a prime example of convergence. Convergence of tectonic plates means that two plates overlap and cause mountains and hills. In this case, the two plates that overlapped are the North and South American plates (http://www.agu.org/journals/tc/tc1104/2010TC002835/2010TC002835.pdf). 

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1386i/colombia/marta.html)

Andean region

The Andean region formed when the Nazca plate, and part of the Antarctic plate, collapsed with the South American plate pushing it under the Caribbean plate which created volcanic islands off the Pacific coast of Colombia and the Isthmus of Panama.(http://www.windows2universe.org/geography/andes.html)

Formation of Andes (http://www.kids-fun-science.com/nazca-plate.html)

Andes Mountains (http://www.google.com/imgres)

Volcanoes and Colombia

Colombia has a total of 17 volcanoes, 15 which are still active. The volcanoes are a part of the northern Andes and lie at the junction of 3 tectonic plates: Nazca, Carribean, and South American plates.

Major volcanoes in Colombia (http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/colombia.html)

Galeras Volcano, Colombia

The Galeras volcano is the most active volcano in South America and has been erupting for more than a million years. It is a stratovolcano, which is a tall, conical volcano built up of many layers (strata) of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. It is located in the Columbian segment of the Andes Mountains. (http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/colombia.html) The volcano was formed

Galeras Volcano is formed along Nazca and South American plates. It is a convergent boundary and is oceanic-continental. 

Galeras Volcano- radar image (http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/oldroot/volcanoes/galeras/galeras.html)

Galeras Volcano (http://volcano-club.blogspot.com/2011/11/decade-volcanoes-part-one-with-added.html)