MEDELLN

city, capital of Antioquia departamento, northwestern Colombia. It lies along the Porce River (a tributary of the Cauca) at an elevation of 5,000 feet (1,500 m) above sea level, in the steep, temperate Aburr Valley of the Cordillera Central. It is one of the nation's largest cities and is heavily industrialized, particularly in the steel industry. Medelln was founded in 1675 as a mining town, but few colonial buildings survive. It is a well-ordered city, laid out on modern planning lines. Medelln has developed a wide industrial base that includes food processing, woodworking, metallurgy, automobiles, chemicals, and rubber products; it is known as Colombia's Manchester, because of its textile mills and clothing factories. After 1914, the completion of the Panama Canal and the arrival of the railroad from Cali led to the rapid growth of Medelln, which became an important transportation crossroads. The city is connected by road to the Caribbean littoral and has an international airport. Medelln has long been one of Colombia's largest commercial centres of the coffee industry. A new international airport at nearby Rionegro was completed in the mid-1980s. Medelln became a centre for the illegal international distribution of Colombian-grown cocaine in the late 20th century. Pop. (1985) 1,418,554.