GEOGRAPHY

Venezuela covers 353,841 sq .mi in the far northern part of South America. It is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, by Guyana to the east, by Brazil to the south and by Colombia to the west.

It is a land of diverse landscapes and there are five main geographical regions:the Andes (mountains), the coast, the highlands, the lowlands and the llanos (plains)

The Andes Range stretches 4,500 miles across South America. The coastal regios is found along the Caribbean Sea. The coastal strip is very thin. The area between the sea and the mountains is very fertile and cities have flourished in this area. Venezuela's capital, Caracas, is located near the coast.The highlands in southeastern part of Venezuela. It is a part of one of the world's oldest rock formation. Forests are a great natural resource here and the underground deposits of iron ore, bauxite, gold and diamonds too. This area contains more than 100 tepuis. Tepuis are flat-topped mountains, mesas.The lowlands is one of the hottest regions in South America.It is known for its petroleum deposits.The llanos region are the great treeless, grassy lands of the Orinoco River Valley, very fertile, country's cattle are raised here.

Economy

Venezuela is one of the founding members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the nation has the largest proven oil reserves in the western hemisphere, and the second largest natural gas reserves,after the United States.

The petroleum industry accounts for more than half the goverments revenue;however, few Venezuelans benefit from its wealth and most live in poverty.

DID YOU KNOW?????

The oil reserves are so vast, that from time to time engineers drill in the wrong place by mistake, miles away from where they think they should be, only to end up finding oil anyway.

National Flag of Venezuela

The flag of Venezuela consists of three equal sized horizontal stripes the top stripe is yellow, the middle blue, and the bottom stripe is red. In the middle of the blue stripe and flag there are seven, white, five-pointed stars that are arranged in a semi circle. In the top left hand corner of the Venezuelan flag is the country's coat of arms.

The Venezuelan flag is based on one flown by independence fighters fighting against Spanish colonial rule. At that time the yellow represented the gold of the Americas, blue stood for the Atlantic Ocean which separated the new Americas from the bloody old world of Europe and Spain whis is signified by red. A modern meaning but yet similar of the Venezuela flag states that the yellow represents new opportunities, the red symbolizes Spain, and the blue stands for the Atlantic Ocean, which separates the two. The seven stars represent the seven provinces that existed at the time of Venezuelan independence.

DID YOU KNOW????

There are many Venezuelan flags that do not have the coat of arms on them;this is the country's civil flag.

The Republic of Venezuela

Venezuela total country land covers about 353,841 sq.mi . Slightly more then twice the size of California. It's largest cities are 1st place Maracaibo,2nd Caracas and 3rd Valencia.

Because of its proximity to the Equator, Venezuela experiences few climatic variations. There are really only two seasons:dry and wet. So it varies from tropical to temperate, depending on elevation.

It has five main regions including the outstanding and ever snowing Andes mountains. The highest elevation is Pico Bolivar at 16,427 feet and the lowest elevation is sea level along the coast.

Present president is Hugo Chavez . The goverment is a Federal Republic. The population is about 28,091,383 people.

Venezuela's ethnic groups varies from Spanish,Italian,Arab,Portuguese, German, African, Ameridian and there area about 24 indigenous groups. Most of the populations religion are 98%Roman Catholic, 2%Protestant and 2% Jews.

It's economy is based on producing and exporting petroleum products. Water is also important cause it generates energy.

DID YOU KNOW????

The Republic of Venezuela is the sixth largest country in South America....

VENEZUELA