The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is the source of a system of 29 major rivers that spring from the numerous glacial lakes found at 3000 meters above sea level and above, and which make their way down the three faces of the vast massif. Many of these rivers flow into the Caribbean Sea. The highest coastal mountain in the world, the Sierra Nevada is a pyramid with a surface of 21,158 square kilometres, rising to 5,775 meters above sea level in just 42 km.
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is home to a number of ecoregions, which vary according to altitude.