Venezuela - geography
The highest mountain areas are to the NW, where the Eastern Cordilleras
divide into two branches, the Sierra de Perijá west of Lake Maracaibo and the
Cordillera de Mérida east of the lake. The low-lying, swampy area of Lake
Maracaibo is strongly influenced by oil extraction. The Caribbean Coast
Mountains run along the coast. The parallel mountain ranges, the northernmost of
which are highest and stand steeply towards the coast, are separated by a series
of fertile longitudinal valleys. The valleys make up only 3% of the country's
area, but have a large population concentration; Among other things, located
here are some of the major cities such as Caracas, Valencia and Maracay. As is
often seen in South America, the poorest part of the population has settled on
the mountain slopes on the outskirts of cities, a situation that has had
catastrophic consequences in connection with natural disasters, e.g. in 1999,
see Vargas.
Llanos is the savannah-covered lowlands between the Cordillera de
Mérida and the left bank of Orinoco. The soil is mainly river sediments, which
are frequently flooded in summer, while in winter they are drought-stricken. The
area is mainly used for cattle farming, and it is sparsely populated,
because malaria mosquitoes and other insects are a nuisance. South of this
lies the largest, least exploited and most sparsely populated region in
Venezuela. The area is part of the Amazon basin and makes up approximately 50% of the
country's area. The Highlands of Guyana are part of this forested region. The
earth's surface is heavily eroded with rounded ridges, deeply cut valleys and
flat-topped plateaus, tepuis. The Angel Falls, the world's highest
with a free fall of almost 1000 m, is located in La Gran Sabana in the
southeastern part of the region.
A main watershed separates rivers flowing into the Atlantic Ocean from rivers
flowing into the Caribbean Sea. Orinoco with tributaries such as Caroní, Apure
and Meta drains 80% of the country before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean via
its delta.
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Climate
The whole country is located in the tropical climate belt. The temperature
decreases with altitude, while the difference between the warmest and coldest
month is only 1-3 °C. Only in the highest mountain areas can frost occur. The
precipitation varies greatly according to local conditions, especially depending
on the exposure of the mountain sides, but in general most precipitation falls
in the summer and more precipitation the closer you are to the equator. The
Caribbean coast receives 280-400 mm annually, while the Amazon gets 2000-3000
mm. The dominant wind all year round is in most places the Northeast
Passage. Rather than talking about summer and winter, a distinction is made
between the dry season from December to April/May and the wet season the rest
of the year. In the wet season, the intertropical convergence
zone passes through the country twice, which is reflected in the annual curve of
precipitation, which has two peaks, in May and October, except to the north.
The natural vegetation ranges from mangroves on Lake Maracaibo and shrub
steppe with cactus and agave on the north coast over grassy savannah with
scattered trees on the Llanos to rainforest in the Amazon.
Population
Almost the entire population is made up of immigrants and their
descendants. The largest ethnic group, approximately 70%, is mestizer. The whites,
mainly from Spain, southern Europe or the USA, make up 20%, while the black
population counts 9%, the Chinese 2%, and the Native American people
approximately 1%. The ethnic groups are reflected in the geographical
distribution. The Native American tribes often live in hard-to-reach areas, such
as the northwestern part of the country bordering Colombia or the Amazon, where
they make a living from hunting, fishing, farming, cattle ranching, or the
burgeoning tourism industry, while blacks frequently work in the oil sector. The
Maracaibo field or in the ports along the Caribbean coast. The whites and
mestizos dominate the large urban communities. 40% of the population lives in
the four largest cities (Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia and Barquisimeto). When
whites make up such a large proportion of the population, it is due to massive
immigration after 1945. In 1950, they accounted for only 3%. From the beginning,
the oil sector has had to call in foreign experts and skilled labor, and
Venezuela has also over time invited foreign labor to develop agriculture and
other industries.
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In support of economic development, today (2001) immigrants with a good
educational background from the USA and Western Europe are preferred, while
Colombians more or less illegally perform low-wage work in companies, at home
and in agriculture. In addition to the officially registered residents, it is
estimated that approximately 2 mio. illegal immigrants to reside in the country, of
which 1.5 million. from Colombia, the others from Ecuador and Peru.
Population growth has fallen from 2.5% in 1990 to 1.4% in 2006; the
population is quite young; with approximately 4% are over 65 years old, while
approximately 66% are below 30. The death rate is just under 5 ‰. The standard of
living had reached a southern European level in the 1970's, but has since been
declining. Economic inequality is significant, as 80% of the population can be
characterized as poor. The political and economic influence is often reflected
in the color of the skin; dark skin will often be associated with short
education, low income and high unemployment risk.
Industries
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries contributed 5% of GDP in 1998 and
employed approximately 11% of the workforce. Of the production value of these
industries, 45% came from livestock farming, 40% from agriculture and 10% from
fishing. The great importance of oil development for the economy has contributed
to the fact that the above-mentioned industries have received little public
attention. Venezuela, for example, is not self-sufficient in food, and less than
5% of the country is cultivated.
Farming is found mainly in the Cordilleras, while cattle graze mainly on
Llanos near Orinoco. A land reform from 1960 has sought to change the
historically very skewed land distribution. Today, farms can be divided into
three types. The modernized farms, often over 20 ha, use mechanical power as
well as fertilizer and are often operated as plantation farms with sugar cane,
rice or cotton. The small family farms grow corn and beans for the local market
and coffee and cocoa for export. The cattle farms frequently have more than 2000
ha. Agriculture's main exports are coffee, cocoa and fruit, but together they
account for less than 2% of exports.
Oil and industry. Through the 1900's. the Maracaiboolie field, opened
in 1917, has been crucial to the country's economy. Today, oil is also mined on
the Llanos, in the Orinocod Delta and offshore. Other raw materials include
natural gas, coal, iron ore (at Mont Bolívar and El Pao), bauxite, zinc,
copper, nickel, diamonds and gold; of which iron is most important. There is a
significant hydropower potential by e.g. Caroní, where the world's largest
hydroelectric power plant is located at Represa de Guri (Guri Dam).
The oil refineries and the associated petrochemical industry are located at
El Tablazo, at the Maracaibo field and near Puerto Cabello. The consumer goods
industries (food, tobacco, textiles and clothing as well as car assembly plants)
are located at the four largest cities, while heavy industries are located at
Ciudad Guayana/Puerto Ordaz (integrated iron and steelworks) and San Tomé
(aluminum industry). The industry developed between 1950 and 1989, protected by
high tariffs and import restrictions, and in the 1970's the iron mines as well as
the oil and gas fields were nationalized. Since then, the economy has been
liberalized and certain industries, such as telecommunications and the IT
industry, have been privatized. However, some companies are still dependent on
foreign expertise in the production and marketing stages.
Tourism is growing strongly. Charter tourism goes mainly to the
holiday island of Margarita in the Caribbean Sea, but nature and wildlife have
also become a travel destination. Venezuela has over 40 national parks, of which
the seven located in the Amazon alone cover an area of 53,000 km2. However,
tourism, which for several periods has contributed significantly to the economy,
is being hit hard by the sometimes politically turbulent conditions in the
country.
Infrastructure
The transport system is well developed in the densely populated areas to the
north and is based on road transport and shipping. Along the coast, a highway
system connects the towns from Maracaibo to Cumaná. A stretch of the
Pan-American Highway runs from Caracas to the SW to Colombia, while Brazil can
be reached via a branch of the main road Caracas-Barcelona-Ciudad Bolívar. The
sparsely populated areas of the country's interior are mainly served by
aircraft. The railway network is modest; the rails between the Highlands of
Guyana and Ciudad Guayana transport ore in particular. Inland waterways play the
major role at Lake Maracaibo and Orinoco, where ocean-going ships can reach
Ciudad Guayana via a canal through the delta.
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