VENEZUELAN LANDSCAPES

VENEZUELAN LANSCAPES

Venezuela covers 353,841 sq mi (916,445 sq kms) 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. The highest elevation in the country is Pico Bolivar at 16,427 feet (5,007m) the lowest elevation is sea level along the coastline.

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 region contains the Cordillera de Merida which extends north and east from the Andes Mountains in Colombia.

The coastal region is found along the Caribbean Sea. The coastal strip is thin, only a few miles wide in most places. Inland, the land sweeps up into the steep heavily forested mountain range. The area between the sea and the mountains is very fertile and cities have flourished in this área.

The highlands located in the southeastern of Venezuela contain the Bolivar and Amazonas states. This region also contains the Gran Sabana (Grand Savannah) with more than 100 tepuis. Tepuis are flat-topped mountains, with sheer cliffs down the sides. Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall, plunges off the side of Auyantepui. It is 3,212 feet (979m) high.

The lowlands are the area surrounding Lake Maracaibo. The region is flanked on three by the Sierra de Merida and Perija mountain ranges. This allows for little wind in the area and it is one of the hottest regions in South America.

The llanos are the great treeless, grassy lands of the Orinoco River Valley. Low-lying and wet, they are about 600 miles (968km) long and 200 miles (323km) across. They cover nearly a third of the country. Numerous streams and rivers flow through the area including the Orinoco River.

Venezuela boasts 650 types of vegetation and thousands of plant species in several major habitats. Tropical lowland rain forests still cover a very large part of the country and cloud forests can be found on the mountain slopes. Dry forests are found mainly on the larger Caribbean islands and in the hills of the northwest. The coasts and islands feature mangrove forests. Grasslands and savannas are mainly on the plains. Evergreen forests line the banks of the Orinoco River.