Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela is a country on the northern coast of South America. See Exhibit A. It lies along the Caribbean Sea. The Atlantic Ocean is on the northeast. Venezuela's western neighbor is Colombia, Brazil is to the south and Guyana is to the east. The Maracaibo Basin surrounds Lake Maracaibo in western Venezuela. Lake Maracaibo is South America's largest lake. The Andean Highlands stretch across northern Venezuela. Pico Bolivar, in the Andean Highlands, is Venezuela's highest peak. In central Venezuela, there are flat, grassy plains called llanos. South of the llanos, lies the Orinoco River, a major waterway that cuts across Venezuela from west to east. See Exhibit B. South of the Orinoco, the Guyana Highlands cover half of Venezuela. Here lies Angel Falls, 3,212 feet high, the highest waterfall in the world. See Exhibit C. To the far south and west in Venezuela are rain forests and jungles with toucans, macaws and monkeys. Although all of Venezuela lies within the tropical zone, temperatures and rainfall vary among the regions, depending on elevation and prevailing winds. There are four distinct climatic zones; the tropical zone, the moderate zone, the cool zone and the cold zone. See Exhibit D.

The Venezuelan flag dates from 1806. The flag later represented the 1811 Confederation of Venezuela, which consisted of seven original provinces as shown by the seven white stars on the middle stripe. In 1830, the design became the official flag of independent Venezuela. See Exhibit E.

More than twenty-one million people live in Venezuela. Most of the population lives along the northern coast. Caracas, on the northern coast, is the capital and largest city. See Exhibit F. It was founded in 1567. Other major cities are Maracaibo and Valencia. About two of every three Venezuelans are descended from a mixture of Spanish, Indian, or African ancestors. Most Venezuelans follow the Roman Catholic faith. In addition, almost all of Venezuelans speak Spanish, the country's official language. Indians in remote areas speak various tribal languages.

Venezuela was named after Venice, Italy, where city streets are really canals. Venezuela means "Little Venice". Indians lived in Venezuela long before the Spaniards arrived. Christopher Columbus was the first European to reach Venezuela in 1498 landing on the Paria Peninsula. Venezuela became a colony of Spain and in 1523, Spanish colonists founded the town of Cumana.