Pico Cristóbal Colón
mountain in Colombia
Pico Cristóbal Colón is possibly the highest mountain in Colombia, with a reported height of 5,775 metres (18,947 ft). Pico Cristóbal Colón and Pico Simón Bolívar are the two highest peaks in Colombia and almost equal in elevation. One of the two mountains is therefore the fifth most prominent in the world (see list of peaks by prominence). The nearest peak that is higher is Cayambe, some 1,288 kilometres (800 mi) away. There is a permanent snowcap on this peak and on the nearby mountains. It is part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta range, along with Pico Simón Bolívar, and was named after Christopher Columbus. This mountain is the highest point in South America outside the Andes.
Climbing history
Colón was first climbed in 1939 by Walter Wood, Anderson Bakewell and E. Praolini.
Access to these mountains became very difficult after the early 1990s due to hostile locals, drug traffickers and FARC guerillas. An expedition in 2015 led by John Biggar was one of the first to climb in the range for many years, and reached the summit of Pico Colón on 13 December.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Pico Cristóbal Colón” as mountain in Colombia. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as mountain in Colombia. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q578862. VIAF identifies the subject as 234348129. Authority coordinates are 10.838, -73.687. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1939 and 2015.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pico Cristóbal Colón”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pico Cristóbal Colón primary sources, Pico Cristóbal Colón archive and Pico research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pico Cristóbal Colón”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pico Cristóbal Colón” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.