Medellín

Medellín is the industrial capital of Antioquia Department, Colombia, and claims its Cathedral of Vellanueva is one the world's largest brick buildings. It is located on a river of the same name that is part of the Magdalena system.¹ It has a metropolitan population of 3.495 million.² In the past it was a center for gold mining, later for coffee and cocaine. The cocaine cartel was broken up in the late 20th century.

The tallest building is the Torre Coltejer, a 37 story office building from the 1970's.³

One of Colombia's busiest airports serves Medellín: the Jose María Córdova International.

External references

Medellín skyline with rising land in the background

Historical maps

Footnotes

1. The Medellín flows into the Ponce, which goes to the Cauca, which joins the Magdalena. The various rivers form parallel valleys aligned with the mountain ranges, so the city is separated from the Cauca valley by significant peaks. The valley hosting the city is called the Aburrá.
2. Calculation in world-gazetteer.com, accessed 2/6/2013.
3. Emporis.com, accessed 4/13/2013.
4. Tertius Chandler, Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth, 2nd ed. (The Edwin Mellen Press, 1987), "Tables of World's Largest Cities". From 1900 to the present Medellín has been the largest city in western Colombia.
5. 'Secondary' estimate in world-gazetteer.com, accessed 4/20/2013.