Cauca

Cauca, a river of Colombia, in South America, which, after a northerly course of 600 miles, falls into the Magdalena. Its valley is one of the richest and most populous districts of the continent, and it gives name to the largest of the Colombian states, traversed by the Andean coast-range, and extending along the Pacific from Panama to Ecuador. Area, 260,000 sq. m.; population estimated at 460,000. It is rich in minerals, and possesses the most productive platinum mine in America. Capital, Popayán.