| Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta | |
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Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta viewed from Space. |
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| Elevation | 5,700 m (18,701 ft) |
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Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
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| Location | Northern region of Colombia's Caribbean coast |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | From Santa Marta (North) |
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Snowy Mountain Range of Saint Martha) is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range. The Sierra Nevada encompasses about 17,000 km² and serves as the source of 36 rivers. Its range covers the Magdalena Department, Cesar Department and La Guajira Department.
The highest point of the Sierra Nevada group (and Colombia in general) may be either Pico Cristóbal Colón or Pico Simón Bolívar; it has yet to be determined which is higher. SRTM data and local topographic maps show that their true elevations are approximately 5,700 metres, lower than the 5,775 metre elevation that is often quoted.
The Sierra Nevada is a compact group, relatively small in area, and completely surrounded by lands with elevations below 200 metres. 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.
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is home to a number of ecoregions, 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 500 meters.
The Santa Marta montane forests lie above 500–800 meters elevation. The montane forests are separated from other moist forests by the lower-elevation dry forests and xeric shrublands, and have large numbers of endemic species. The montane forests 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 500 and 900 meters elevation, and the drier eastern and southern flanks from 800 to 1000 meters elevation. Above 900 meters elevation is a transitional forest zone of smaller trees and palms. Cloud forests occur above 1000 meters elevation; the Sub-Andean forests from 1000-1150 to 2500 meters elevation form a canopy 25–35 meters tall, while the higher-elevation Andean forests, between 2500 and 3300 meters elevation, grow to 15–20 meters in height.
The Santa Marta Páramo, a high altitude belt of montane grasslands and shrublands interspersed with marshes and acid bogs, occupies the zone between 3300 and 4500–5000 meters. The Santa Marta Páramo is the northernmost enclave of Páramo in South America, which occur along the Andes belt. Above 4500–5000 meters lies the permanent snow cap.
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It is composed of Cretaceous metamorphic rocks (predominantly schists and gneisses) and quartzdioritic intrusives of Tertiary age. The Quaternary of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is mainly represented by colluvial-alluvial 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, NNW trending tectonically controlled bays. The headlands are typically 100 to 150-m-high plunging cliffs cut into schists and granites, whereas the embayments 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 tombolos are common along sectors with abundant rocky erosional remnants and stacks.[1]
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is home to the remnants of the native American Tairona Culture; Arhuacos, Koguis, Wiwas and Kankuamos, that live in Resguardos Indigenas (Indian reserves) located in the mid-highlands.
For the last ten years, access to the highest summits has been very difficult, and this situation continues [1]. There have been no documented recent ascents. The only safe and relatively straight forward access is from Santa Marta city to Cuchillo de San Lorenzo, but that is only to 2,800 metres although allows excellent views of the peaks.