Manizales

Capital of Caldas department, western Colombia, 270 km/168 mi by road south of Medellín; 175 km/108 mi northwest of Bogotá, situated in the Central Cordillera of the Andes 2,150 m/7,000 ft above sea level; population (2005) 342,600. It is the commercial centre of Colombia's coffee-growing region. Manufactures include textiles, chemicals and leather goods. It is linked with Mariquita by the world's longest overhead cable transport system, 72 km/45 mi long. The city is dominated by the Nevado del Ruiz volcano which erupted in November 1985, killing more than 25,000 people.