Colonial Venezuela of the Junta as a step toward outright independence. The Venezuelan War of Independence ensued. It ran concurrently with that of New Granada. On 17 December 1819 the Congress of Angostura declared Gran Colombia an independent country. After two more years of war, the country achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of its most famous son, Simón Bolívar. Venezuela, along with the countries of Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, formed part of the Republic of Gran Colombia until 1830, when Venezuela separated and became a separate sovereign country. Colonial Venezuela Spanish expeditions led by Columbus and Pepito Perez
Geography of Colombia highest points named Pico Cristobal Colon (5775 m) and Pico Simon Bolivar (same elevation). Other mountains in the Caribbean plain include the Montes de María and the Serranía de San Lucas. In the Pacific Plains there are other mountain formations, chiefly the Serranía del Darién and the Serranía del Baudó. In the eastern Region, there is the Serranía de la Macarena and there are formations belonging to the Guyana Shield. The natural resources of Colombia are varied and extensive with most of its territory and oceans still unexplored. Colombia has one of the largest open pit coal mines in the