UNIVERSIDAD YACAMBU
PROF.
Mariana Córdova
Inglés III
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT VENEZUELA
Venezuela, republic in South America, bounded on the north by
the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, on the east by Guyana,
on the south by Brazil, and
on the southwest and west by Colombia.
The coastline of Venezuela
is about 2800 km
about 1700 mi
long and has numerous indentations, of which the gulfs of Venezuela and Paria are notable.
Except in the west, which has expanses of low and
occasionally marshy land, the coast is generally narrow and steep. Of the 72
island s off the coast that belong to Venezuela,
Margarita is the largest and most important. The total area of Venezuela is
912,050 sq km 352,144 sq mi. The capital and largest city is Caracas.
Venezuela has four distinct geographic regions. In the nor thwest and north are the Venezuelan highlands, which
include the country's highest point, Pico Bolivar
5007 m/16,427 ft. The Maracaibo lowlands,
containing Lake Maracaibo,
an inland extension of the Gulf of Venezuela,
are near the northwestern coast. The Llanos, a region of tropical grassland,
are in the north central region, and the Guiana Highlands, which reach
elevations of more than 2700
m about 9000
ft above sea level, are in the southeast and south. The
mountains of the Guyana Highlands extend from t h e delta of the Orinoco River
into Brazil and Guyana,
and are varied by open areas and forest.
The chief ranges are the Sierra Parima and Sierra
Pacaraima, which form part of the boundary with Brazil. Angel Falls,
the world's highest waterfalls, is in the e astern part of the highlands. Venezuela has
six navigable rivers. Of the thousand or more streams in the country, the
majority are affluents of the Orinoco, which, with the Apure, Meta, and Negro
tributaries, forms the outlet into the Atlantic Ocean for t he interior of Colombia, as well as Venezuela.
The Orinoco extends east across central Venezuela and drains approximately four-fifths
of the total area of the \par \par Climate \par \par The
climate of Venezuela
is tropical on the Llanos and along the coast, and temperate in the mountainous
regions. The average daily temperature range in January in Caracas
is 13'C0 to 24'C0 or 56'F0 to 75'F0 and 23'C0 to 32'C0 or 73'F0 to 90'F0 in
Mara caibo; in July the range is 16'C0 to 26'C0 or
61'F0 to 78'F0 in Caracas and 24'C0 to 34'C0 or
76'F0 to 94'f0 in Maracaibo.
Most precipitation falls from May through November, with the northern mountain
slopes receiving less rain than those on the south.
Natural Resources
Venezuela is rich in mineral resources, notably petroleum,
natural gas, bauxite, gold, iron ore, copper, zinc, lead, and diamonds.
Forests, too, are an important Plants and Forests of varied species including
palms, coral, mangoes, and Brazil
wood nearly 40 percent of Venezuela.
Plant life common to the Temperate Zone the region north of the Tropic of
Cancer thrives above about 900
m about 3000
ft. Long grass grows on the Llanos, and mangrove swamps cover much of the
Orinoco River delta. Among the animals of Venezuela are jaguars, monkeys, sloths, anteaters, ocelots, bears, deer, and armadil los. Birdlife is abundant
and includes flamingos, herons, ibis, guacharos also called oilbirds,
and numerous other species. Reptiles, including crocodiles and such large
snakes as anacondas and boa constrictors, are also found in Venezuela.
Population
About 67 percent of the population of Venezuela
is made up of mestizos
people of mixed European and Native American ancestry, and some 21 percent is
of white descent. The remainder is predominantly black, and about 2 percent of
the total population is unmixed Native American. The society is 93 percent
urban. Spanish is the official language of the country. The principal religion
is Roman Catholicism.
Population Characteristics
The Venezuelan population 20 1995 estimate is about
21,483,000, giving the country an overall population density of about 2 4
persons per sq km 61 per sq mi. About 80 percent of the population lives in the
northern highlands or coastal regions. Only about 5 percent inhabits the huge
area nearly 50 percent of the total land area south of the Orinoco River.
Native Americans living in the jungles were estimated to number about 53,500 in 20 1981.
Political Divisions
Venezuela is divided into 22 states; the federal dependencies,
which comprise 72 islands in the Caribbean; and the Distrito Federal Federal
District, site of Caracas,
the national capital.
Culture
The dominant influence on the culture of Venezuela
was that of the Spanish conquerors. The Native Americans of the country,
lacking any political or cultural unity of their own, were assimilated by the
immigrant groups and had only a slight influence on the national culture. The
distinct Venezuelan contribution to folk legend is the llanero,
or South American cowboy. The national dance, the joropo,
and such popular instruments as the maracas, a small harp, and the cuatro, a small guitar, are alla ssociated with the llanero. Venezuela, which was regarded as one of the less
profitable colonies of Spain,
lacks the splendors of Spanish architecture that are found in other South
American countries. Nevertheless, in the second half of the 20th century, the
combination of the wealth produced from oil discoveries and strong ties with
the United States
has helped foster the development of modern architecture. Caracas is now considered one of the most
modern cities in the world.
History
The history of the war of independence against Spain in Venezuela is largely the record of
the careers of Simón Bolivar and Francisco de
Miranda. The revolution began in 1810 and independence was formally proclaimed
on July 5, 1811. In
1819 the republic of Gran Colombia was established, with its capital in Bogota.
Gran
Colombia included what are now Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and
Panama.
Independence was assured with the decisive victory of Bolivar over
the Spanish royalist army in 1821. Venezuela constituted itself an
independent republic in 1829.