Considered as one of the world’s natural wonders, Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta has an elevation of 18, 942 feet or 5,775 meters above sea level. Also considered as the world’s longest coastal range, the Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta is a natural wonder of its own. It is not a part of the Andes Mountains as most people seem to think. It is an isolated mountain range and found to be just 42 kilo meters away from the famous Caribbean coast. It is measured at 17,000 km2 and provides for the 36 rivers that is found in its range.
Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta is found to be located in three areas, Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira, and all are in Colombia. What is more amazing is that it is considered as the world’s fifth most well-known summit. Like most natural wonders, ecosystems are also found in the area around the Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta. The type of ecosystem depends on which elevation they are found. The lowest point of the Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta which is the northern part, the Guajira-Barranquilla Xeric scrub region is found, near the coast of the Caribbean. The Sinú Valley, which is considered a dry forest, envelops the range up to the elevation of 500 meters.
The Santa Marta Montane forests are found in the area above 500 meters. There are a number of species found in this region. There are also wide varieties of plant life due to the altitude and the amount of rainfall received by the forest. The Santa Marta Páramo, found 3300 meters in altitude of the range also contains plant life diversity.