Location:
Venezuela is situated in the northern part of South America, opened to Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean and it has Guyana in east, Brazil in south-east and Colombia in west and south-west as neighbors.
Area/Surface:
916.500 km²
Population:
29.000.000 people
Capital:
Caracas 6.475.000 people
Currency:
Bolivar
Languages spoken:
Spanish
Religion:
Roman-Catholic
Government form:
Republic, Partial democracy
Time zone:
-4.5 hours Greenwich time
Cars:
VE
Calling code:
+58
Venezuela
Relief, rivers, lakes and islands of Venezuela:
Venezuela is a country with a relief mostly flat with plains called Llanos where the locals grow huge flocks of cattle on the fertile areas. The mountain chain of the Andes is situated in the north-western part of the country, while the central part is covered by low plains and Orinoco River’s basin, which flows for 2.740 km towards the Atlantic Ocean and flows into it through an amazing delta in the north-eastern side.
The southern part is composed by Guyana Platform. The highest peak of this country is Pico Bolivar with 4.979 m height. It also has on its territory the highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls with 979 m height on Churun River. The biggest lake is Maracaibo situated in the north-western part of the country between the Andes and Caribbean Sea, close to the border with Colombia. Venezuela also has more than 70 islands in the surrounding waters. Maracaibo Lake is in fact a part of the Caribbean Sea with salty waters in its northern part and fresh water in the southern part where many rivers inflow.
Economy, short history, agriculture and population:
This region is very important because here are several oil refineries which extract huge quantities of oil annually. The oil helps a lot the Venezuelan economy and because of this the country transformed in the last century from a poor one to one of the richest in South America. These places were inhabited by American Indians long before they were discovered and conquered by Spanish people. Venezuela was under Spanish domination till the 19th century when it was part of Great Colombia Republic for 9 years together with Colombia and Ecuador. (Find more journeys on blog.worldlifetimejourneys.com) It obtained its independence over Spain in 1811 and over Colombia in 1830. Nowadays the population is a mix of Europeans and indigenous people, the American Indians representing only 2% of the total population. They work in agriculture and the most important cultures are those of banana, corn and rice. Most of the population is living in cities with the capital at Caracas, an important port and blowing city, 4 centuries old. Visit Venezuela!
The highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls from Venezuela
