=Santander del Norte=, north of Santander, is also traversed by the East Cordillera. The mean temperatures vary greatly: 46° on several _paramos_, and 81° in the valleys of the Catatumbo and Zulia. Gold, silver, copper, lead, coal are mined. Rio de Oro, tributary to the Catatumbo, has rich auriferous deposits, and what is now of greater importance, it passes through a district rich in petroleum. The varied crops are the chief source of wealth: wheat and potatoes, coffee and cacao. Cúcuta, the capital, altitude 1000 feet, with a temperature of 84°, is an important commercial city. =Santander=, written also with Sur, south of Santander del Norte and of Magdalena, has Boyacá on the east and south; Antioquia and Bolívar are across the Magdalena River on the west. Similar to Santander del Norte, it has more low plains. Gold, silver, copper, talc, asphalt are found. Bucaramanga, the capital, has a mean temperature ranging from 64° to 84°. =Cundinamarca=, south of Boyacá, has Meta on the east, Tolima and Huila south, and Tolima west. Less than one-half of the population is white; about one-third is on the high plateau, the rest on the slopes or in the Magdalena Valley, or on the Orinoco watershed. The scattered population is in 110 municipalities. Agriculture is most important, the land near Bogotá being especially well cultivated. In the city many factories are operated and a variety of trades followed. Mines are widely distributed: iron, gold, silver, copper, lead, coal, jasper, etc. Bogotá is the capital of the Department as well as of the country. =Huila=, south of Cundinamarca and Tolima, has Meta and Caquetá east, Cauca south, and Cauca and Tolima west. Half of Huila is Government land, forest and mountain. Cattle raising is well developed. Wheat, maize, rice, coffee, sugar, tobacco, are cultivated on a large scale. There are four quartz mines, and gold placers receive attention. Neiva, the capital, is practically at the head of steam navigation on the Magdalena River. With an altitude of about 1500 feet it has an even temperature approximating 80°. =Tolima=, west of Huila and Cundinamarca, is a long Department with the Magdalena River on the east and the Central Cordillera west. Cacao and coffee are raised on the warm lowlands. Twenty-six million coffee trees have been producing; perhaps 4,000,000 more are now in bearing. Over 2,000,000 tobacco plants grow on the foothills, other crops higher, also cattle. Of the last there are 580,000, also 140,000 horses, 100,000 hogs, with fewer sheep and goats. The rivers are auriferous and 60 properties are worked for gold and silver. Ibagué, the capital, is a pleasant and important city, an active commercial town with mines and thermal springs in the neighborhood, exporting a variety of articles, and with a considerable cattle trade. CHAPTER V COLOMBIA: PORTS AND TRANSPORTATION SEA AND RIVER PORTS