Colombia for the new Republic. Simón Bolívar became the first President of Colombia, and Francisco de Paula Santander was made Vice President. However, the new republic was unstable and three countries emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (New Granada, Ecuador and Venezuela). Colombia was the first constitutional government in South America, and the Liberal and Conservative parties, founded in 1848 and 1849 respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. Slavery was abolished in the country in 1851. Internal political and territorial divisions led to the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830. The so-called
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