VENEZUELA

The country I’m doing my project on is Venezuela. The capital of

Venezuela is Caracas. The flag consists of three horizontal bands of yellow, blue and red

with the coat of arms and an arc of eight white stars in the center of the blue band.

Venezuela’s national anthem is Himno Nacional. It is located in the northern coast of South America. Venezuela is really not too large. It covers an area of 352,144 square miles. The area occupied by Venezuela is slightly more than twice the size of the state of California. It is bordered by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean on the north side. On the east it is bordered by Guyana. On the south end it is bordered by Brazil and on the western side is Colombia. Venezuela’s capital city is located in the northern part of the country.
Venezuela has four different geographical divisions. In the north emerges a low extension of the Andes mountains and to the west is the hot basin of Lake Maracaibo. The great plains ( llanos) and forests spread to the southeast. South of the Orinoco River lies the unoccupied and largely unexplored Guina Highlands. Venezuela has seventy-two offshore islands. An outstanding geographical feature is Angel Falls. Angel Falls is taller than eleven football fields in length stacked on top of each other. It is also the highest waterfall in the world. The major fault is San Sebastian. It serves as a border between the South American and the Caribbean tectonic plates along the northern coast of the country. Frequent earthquakes and landslides happen in this area. Generally there are four different climate regions in Venezuela. They are tropical, subtropical, temperate and cold. During wet season which is May to October, the llanos and forest areas are swampy, green and lush. In the dry season the same areas become dry, brown and parched. There is perpetual snow on several peaks of the Cordillera de Merida. Xeraphytic plants and mimosa are found in the areas of insufficient rainfall. The subtropical zone, tierra templada was originally almost covered by a luxuriant forest, but it is now the nations principal agriculture region. In the temperate region only a small portion of the total land area, wild vegetation is sparse and scrubby.
Venezuela has environmental problems. Venezuela has urbanization. It also has unrestricted use of pesticides which can cause havoc on an environment. The waterways are polluted with industrial waste. These led the government in 1976 to establish the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources to help regulate and prevent these pollutions. They have air pollution from the activity of power plants and exhaust emissions from automobiles. Water pollution is caused by contaminants from the oil industry, mining activity and industrial chemicals. Between 1990-95, forests were cut at an average annual rate of 1.1%. Measures have been taken to prevent forest depletion such as suspension of logging permits and a large-scale afforestation program. In 2000, the annual rate of deforestation had dropped to .4%. As of 2002 there were at least 323 species of mammals, 547 species of birds and over 21,000 species of plants throughout the country. Venezuela was founded by Christopher Columbus. It is named after Venice by Alonso de Ojeda. The first Europeans to settle in Venezuela were Germans. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V granted the Welsers, a German banking firm, the right to colonize and develop Venezuela in exchange for the cancellation of a debt. Lasting less than 20 years, the administration of the Welsers was characterized by extensive exploration and organization of the territory but also by acting brutally toward the native population. In 1546 the grant was rescinded and Venezuela was returned to the Spanish Crown. The war for independence against Spain was in 1810. Francisco de Miranda, a military adventurer was named leader of the Congress of Cabildos which declared the independence of Venezuela on July 5, 1811. Royalist factions rallied to overthrow the new republic which was weakened when an earthquake destroyed revolutionary strongholds and left Royalist centers virtually untouched. Francisco was later captured and sent to die in a dungeon in Cadiz but Simon Bolivar, a native of Caracas who had served under Francisco, was able to flee to Columbia.
During the Colonial era and until the development of petroleum resources, the export of cocoa and coffee and the raising of cattle and goats provided the main supports for the economy. However agriculture now accounts for only about 5% of the GDP. For over ten years the economy has been completely dominated by the petroleum industry. In the mid 1480’s oil exports accounted for 40% of all export value and in revenues and half revenues. In 2003 agriculture accounted for 4% of the GDP, engaging 8% of the economically active population. The countries exports are petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, and basic manufactures. Its imports are raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, and construction materials. The agricultural main crops are sugarcane, rice, corn and sorghum, and the chief fruits are bananas, plantains, oranges, coconuts, and mangoes. The most important agricultural items for industrial use are cotton, tobacco, and sisal. Venezuela’s current leader is Hugo Rafael Chavez Friaz.
The population of Venezuela was approximately 23,550,000 in July 2000. The estimated population in 2050 will be approximately 37,000,000. The official language is Spanish but has numerous indigenous dialects. Venezuela is 96% nominally Roman Catholic and 2% Protestant. Venezuela has a federal republic for its government. Its currency is the Bolivar. Public education from kindergarten through university is free, and education is mandatory for children ages 5 through 17. This includes one year of preschool, nine years of elementary school, and two to three years of secondary school. Approximately 20% of the national budget is assigned to education. The adult literacy rate in 2004 was estimated at about 93%.