TOPOGRAPHY OF COLOMBIA. 



195 



waterway as far as Puerto Botijas (A'stacion Sanf under), where the merchants of 

 Bucaramanga and neighbouring towns have their depots. 



]6. — Cttcuta Disteict. 

 Scale 1 : 900,000. 



Puerto Villamizàr <îii^'","Ji;;' ■'"'■' - \ 



"■■■^ t 



\8= 



JiRON — Bucaramanga — Cucuta — OcaSa. 



Jiron (Giron), the oldest settlement in this district, lies at an elevation of 

 1,850 feet on the Rio de 



Oro, tributary of the Le- yw. 



brija. Thanks to its gold- 

 mines, Jiron is a busy 

 place, though somewhat 

 eclipsed by the neigh- 

 bouring Bucaramanga, 

 which, although less ac- 

 cessible, enjoys a more 

 healthy climate at an alti- 

 tude of over 3,000 feet 

 above the sea. Neverthe- 

 less, Bucaramanga, like 

 its neighbours, Jiron and 

 Piedecuesta, has lost some 

 of the sources of its pros- 

 perity. Its gold-mines 

 are no longer worked, and 

 it has ceased to export 

 tobacco, cacao, and straw 

 hats, while the cinchona 

 of the surrounding forests 

 is now little esteemed. 



Bucaramanga lies 

 within the Magdalena 

 basin, near the waterpart- 

 ing towards tlie Maracaibo 

 and Orinoco hydrographie 

 systems. On the Orinoco 

 slope the only place that 

 ranks as a town is Conccp- 

 cion, near which are some 



hot springs. is Miles. 



The upper Lebrija 

 basin is separated by the Mesa Juan Rodriguez range from the upland valleys 

 draining to the Venezuelan rivers, Zulia and Catatumbo. Pamplona, the most 

 elevated place on this slope, stands at an altitude of 7,550 feet in an old lacustrine 

 basin, source of the Rio Paraplonita. Although less animated than the other 





% 



72°40' 



West ot- Li 



/2°m' 



