About 86 percent of the country's total area lies in the hot zone. Included in the hot zone and interrupting the temperate area of the Andean highlands are the long and narrow extension of the Magdalena Valley and a small extension in the Cauca Valley; there are alternating dry and wet seasons corresponding to summer and winter, respectively.
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| Andean highlands |
The temperate zone covers about 8 percent of the country. This zone includes the lower slopes of the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Central. In the higher elevations of this zone, farmers benefit from two wet and two dry seasons each year; January through March and July through September are the dry seasons.
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| Cordillera Oriental |
The cold or cool zone constitutes about 6 percent of the total area, including some of the most densely populated plateaus and terraces of the Colombian Andes; this zone supports about one fourth of the country's total population. The mean temperature ranges between 10°C and 19°C, and the wet seasons occur in April and May and from September to December.
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| Colombian Andes |
Precipitation is moderate to heavy in most parts of the country; the heavier rainfall occurs in the low-lying hot zone.
Colombia has a Class A tropical/ equatorial climate based on the classification system where the climate is good for growing crops that demand lots of water and heat such as rice, bananas, and sugar cane. Colombia in particular has an 'Af' climate where there is no dry season and where there is at least 60mm of rainfall in the driest month.
http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/EarthTempClim/EarthTempClim.html
http://www4.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/elements_of_climate.html
