The Colombian Massif also known colloquially as Nudo de Almaguer

Almaguer, Cauca

Almaguer is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia.Founded in 1551 by Vasco de Guzmán and Alonso de Fuenmayor, the municipality covers an area of 520 km² and has a population of 21,300.The population is primarily engaged in agriculture....

 refers to a group of mountains within the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 of south central Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. The massif

Massif

In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...

 is mainly within the area of the Cauca

Cauca Department

Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...

, Huila

Huila Department

Huila is one of the departments of Colombia. It is located in the southwest of the country, and its capital is Neiva.-Geography:The south of the department is located in the Colombian Massif...

, and Nariño Department

Nariño Department

Nariño is a department of Colombia named after Antonio Nariño. It is in the west of the country, bordering Ecuador and the Pacific Ocean.Its capital is Pasto, other important cities include Tumaco, Ipiales.-Municipalities:# Albán# Aldana# Ancuya...

s. To the south is the Pasto Massif (Nudo de los Pastos) and to the north begins the Central and Eastern Andes.

Geography

The total area is 32,682 km² (12,619 mi²) which are distributed as follows: 13,716 km² (5296 mi²) of forests, 15,423 km² (5955 mi²) of agroecosystems

Agroecosystem

An agroecosystem is the basic unit of study for an agroecologist, and is somewhat arbitrarily defined as a spatially and functionally coherent unit of agricultural activity, and includes the living and nonliving components involved in that unit as well as their interactions.An agroecosystem can be...

, 2567 km² (991 mi²) of páramos

Páramo

The term páramo can refer to a variety of ecosystems. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as “all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline”. A more narrow term classifies the páramo according to its regional placement - specifically located in “the northern Andes...

, 43 km² (17 mi²) of nival (snow) zone, 924 km² (357 mi²) have xerophytic vegetation and 9 km² (3 mi²) of urban settlements. The altitude varies between 2600 and 4700 MASL (8530 ft and 15,420 ft).
This is area is identified as the source of 70% of the Colombian safe water for human consumption and irrigation. The headwaters of the Magdalena

Magdalena River

The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...

 and Cauca River

Cauca River

The Cauca River is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. Born in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Pinillos in Bolívar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the Caribbean Sea. It has a...

s (Caribbean slope), Caquetá and Putumayo River

Putumayo River

The Içá or Putumayo River is one of the tributaries of the Amazon River, west of and parallel to the Yapura. It forms part of Colombia's border with Ecuador, as well as most of the frontier with Peru...

s (Amazon Basin

Amazon Basin

The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...

) and the Patía River

Patía River

The Patía River is a river in southwestern Colombia. It flows over 400 kilometers to drain into the Pacific Ocean north of Tumaco. The Patía River is the longest river on the Colombian Pacific Coast. The last 90 kilometers is navigable by boat.-Geography:...

 (Pacific slope).
The massif contains 362 high mountain bodies of water, 13 páramos and other ecosystems rich in flora and fauna. From south to north are the páramos of Cutanga, Letero, Las Papas (Potatoes), Apio (Celery) and Buey (Ox). Sotará and Puracé

Puracé

Puracé is a stratovolcano located in the Puracé National Natural Park in the Cauca Department, Colombia. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Colombia. Large explosive eruptions occurred in 1849, 1869, and 1885, and the latest eruption was in 1977....

 are the prominent volcanoes of the area, the latter being with the Puracé National Natural Park

Puracé National Natural Park

The Puracé National Natural Park is a national park located in the Andean Region of Colombia, southeast of the city of Popayán in the Cordillera Central range. Its main feature is the active stratovolcano Puracé, one of Colombia's most active volcanoes...

.

Very few people have traversed the mountains of this region because it is covered by rugged mountains and an impenetrable and cold páramo environment, both of which are natural guardians which preserve the great water supply that provides water for half of Colombia before emptying into the sea.