Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta 5.26

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain range separated from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5700m just 42km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is one of the world's highest coastal ranges, being 250m shorter than the Saint Elias Mountains in Canada. The Sierra Nevada encompasses about 17000km2 and serves as the source of 36 rivers. The range is in the Departments of Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira.The highest point of the Sierra Nevada group (and Colombia in general) may be either Pico Cristóbal Colón or Pico Simón Bolívar both in the municipalities of Santa Marta and Aracataca; it has yet to be determined which is higher. SRTM data and local topographic maps show that their true elevations are approximately 5700m, lower than the 5775m elevation that is often quoted.The Sierra Nevada is a compact group, relatively small in area, and completely surrounded by lands with elevations below 200m. Although it is associated with the Tropical Andes, 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.Several peaks in the Sierra Nevada are intervisible with Cerro Paramillo, a 3730m peak in Antioquia Department. This implies a theoretical direct line of sight of just over 500km, reported to be the longest between any two points on the surface of the Earth.