The Montes de María are a group of mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

s of the northern coast of 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 Caribbean Region), which do not belong to 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...

 ranges, and the highlands around them. The Montes de María are the last part of the Serranía de San Jerónimo.

Montes de María is a zone located in the center of the Colombian Departments

Departments of Colombia

Colombia is an unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District . Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly , elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods...

 of Bolívar

Bolívar Department

Bolívar is a department of Colombia. It was named after one of the original nine states of the United States of Colombia. It is located to the north of the country, extending from the coast at Cartagena near the mouth of the Magdalena River, then south along the river to a border with Antioquia.Its...

 and Sucre

Sucre Department

Sucre is a department in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. The department ranks 27th by area, and it has a population of 772,010, ranking 20th of all the 32 departments of Colombia...

. The following towns are part of the Montes de María: El Carmen de Bolívar

El Carmen de Bolívar

El Carmen de Bolívar is a municipality and town of the northern Colombian Department of Bolivar. Founded on February 16, 1779 by the Spanish infantry Lieutenant Antonio de La Torre y Miranda,El Carmen de Bolivar lies in the central region of the Bolivar Department.-History:This area was initially...

, María La Baja

Maria La Baja

María La Baja is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia.-History:María La Baja was founded by Alonso de Heredia on December 8, 1535.-Geography and climate:...

, San Juan Nepomuceno

San Juan Nepomuceno, Bolívar

San Juan Nepomuceno is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia. It is named after Saint John of Nepomuk...

, San Jacinto

San Jacinto, Bolívar

San Jacinto is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia. The town is famous as the birthplace of the Latin Grammy Award winner cumbia group Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto....

, Córdoba

Córdoba, Bolívar

Córdoba is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia....

, Zambrano

Zambrano, Bolívar

Zambrano is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia....

 and El Guamo

El Guamo

El Guamo is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia....

 in Bolivar; Ovejas

Ovejas

Ovejas is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

, Chalán

Chalán

Chalán is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

, Colosó

Colosó

Colosó is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

, Morroa

Morroa

Morroa is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

, Toluviejo

Toluviejo

Toluviejo is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

, Los Palmitos

Los Palmitos

Los Palmitos is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

, San Onofre

San Onofre, Sucre

San Onofre is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

 and San Antonio de Palmitos in Sucre.

It has a total area of 6317 km² (2,439 sq mi), of which 3798 km² (1,466 sq mi) are in Bolívar and 2519 km² (973 sq mi) in Sucre. This area has a population of about 330,889.

Montes de María comprises three zones:
The first zone is relatively flat with no mountains: the area located between the Troncal de Occidente and the Magdalena River

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...

, dedicated to cattle-raising and forestry. And the area located between the Transversal del Caribe and the Canal del Dique, with a main activity of agriculture.

A second zone with mountains between the Transversal del Caribe and Troncal de Occidente with agriculture as the main activity.

And a third zone in the west part that corresponds to the town of San Onofre.