The
Andes mountains form the most populous region of Colombia and contain the majority of the country's urban centres. They were also the location of the most significant pre-Columbian indigenous settlement. Beyond the
Colombian Massif in the south-western departments of
Cauca and
Nariño, the Colombian Andes divide into three branches known as "cordilleras" (from the Spanish for
rope): the
Cordillera Occidental, running adjacent to the Pacific coast and including the city of
Cali; the
Cordillera Central, running up the centre of the country between the
Cauca and
Magdalena river valleys (to the west and east respectively) and including the cities of
Medellín,
Manizales and
Pereira; and the
Cordillera Oriental and
Perijá Mountains, extending north-east towards the
Guajira Peninsula, and including
Bogotá,
Bucaramanga and
Cúcuta. The climate and vegetation of the region vary considerably according to altitude, but as a general rule the land can be divided into the
tierra caliente (hot land) of river valleys and basins below ; the more temperate conditions of the
tierra templada (temperate land, approximately ) and
tierra fría (cold land, ), which include the most productive land and the majority of the population; and the alpine conditions of the
zona forestada (forested zone, ),
páramos () and
tierra helada (frozen land, and above). ==Caribbean Region==