CHAPTER VIII
VENEZUELA: PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The configuration of Venezuela is simpler than that of Colombia; the country has four distinct sections:
First, a mountain region including the Venezuelan Andes, which is a branch of the East Cordillera of Colombia; and a range called the Maritime Andes extending along the coast.
Second, lying east and south of the mountains, the great plain of the llanos occupying a large part of the Orinoco Basin.
Third, the Guiana or Guayana Highlands south of the Orinoco, extending to the eastern and southern boundaries and occupying a great extent of unexplored territory.
Fourth, the coastal plain around Lake Maracaibo.
First Section
The Andes coming in from Colombia cross the northwestern portion of Venezuela in two or more ranges, separating the great Orinoco Basin from the lowlands lying between this chain and that part of the Colombian East Cordillera called the Sierra de Perija. A number of the mountains are above 13,000 feet, the highest, La Columna, is 16,522 feet. Though none of the mountains are volcanoes, earthquakes are common. The general height of the range decreases on the south towards Colombia, and north towards the Caribbean Sea, till at one point at the north, near where the city of Barquisimeto is located in the valley between the two ranges, the Rio Cojedes goes through to the Orinoco Basin. Beyond the Cojedes River the Maritime Andes stretch along the coast in two parallel ranges, the high valley between them being the most densely populated part of the country. The peak above Caracas, called the Silla de Caracas, one of the highest of this section, has an altitude of 8650 feet; Naiguatá passes 9000. After a considerable break at Cape Codera the mountains continue to the Gulf of Paria.
The western branch of the Venezuelan Andes, turning north, continues towards the coast in low ranges called the Segovia Highlands, with the Maracaibo district on the west.
Second Section
East and south of this mountainous country is the vast region, thinly populated and not well known, of the great Orinoco Basin, occupying three fourths of the country; first come the llanos, followed by a forested district, with hilly, mountainous country beyond. The llanos, covering 87,000 square miles on the north side of the great river, are grassy plains broken by islands of trees. Near the mountains north and west are extensive forests. The llanos are of slightly varying altitude, in parts rising imperceptibly, but often by terraces or banks a few feet high. In the western section there are large tracts in the Portuguesa Valley but 300 feet above the sea; in other places the land rises to 650 feet, and to a still greater height on the mesas which form the watershed between the Orinoco and the rivers Unare and Aragua flowing into the Caribbean Sea.
Third Section
South and east of the Orinoco River are the Guiana Highlands, said to cover 200,000 square miles, for the most part a plateau 1000 feet and upwards in elevation, from which rise several mountain chains connected by lower hills, the Parime Range separating the Orinoco and Amazon Basins. A few peaks rise 8000 feet; the highest known is Mt. Roraima, 8500 feet, at the southeast corner, where the boundaries of British Guiana, Brazil, and Venezuela come together.
Fourth Section
This region, much smaller, occupies the northwest part of the Republic, which may be considered as a coastal plain. It includes the alluvial area around Lake Maracaibo, the Coro and the Paraguana lowlands, with open sandy hills extending along the shore of the Gulf of Venezuela to the end of the Paraguana Peninsula, and some islands of the same character.
The Lake district is somewhat similar to the Orinoco Delta, with many rivers coming in at the south, and with open lagoons and swamps; it is bordered by dense forests often inundated by rains. East and west towards the north between the swamps are higher lands with some grassy plains. At the west is the Sierra de Perija on the Colombian frontier.
Rivers and Lakes
Venezuela is said to have 72 large and more or less navigable rivers, of which the Orinoco is the chief. Its length, variously stated, may be 1570 miles and the area of its basin 370,000 square miles.
The Orinoco, rising near the Brazilian boundary, first flows northwest, then northerly forming the boundary line with Colombia, and from the entrance of the Meta River, northeast and east to the Atlantic Ocean. Its low forested delta covers 8500 square miles. Boca de Navios, the largest mouth, is 20 miles wide with a depth of 17 feet at the bar. Among the 400 or more tributaries the most important are the Caroni, the Caura, and the Ventuari, draining the mountainous and forested section at the south; and the Guaviare, Vichada, Meta, and Apure coming in from the west, the first three from Colombia. The Casiquiare, previously mentioned, connects the Orinoco with the Rio Negro.
Among other rivers of importance are the Catatumbo and the Escalante flowing into Lake Maracaibo and the Tocuyo into the Caribbean.
Among the 205 lakes, Maracaibo, covering 8392 square miles, is obviously the largest and most important. Other lakes are Valencia, Zulia, Laguneta, and Camaguán, but many of the 200 are mere shallow lagoons which serve as breeding places for mosquitoes.
Climate
As might be expected, the climate of the country is similar to that of Colombia, with corresponding variations for altitude: tropical to about 2000 feet; above that to 7000 temperate; still higher, cold, with mean annual temperatures ranging from 60° to zero or less on the high mountains. The hot region, tierra caliente, includes the coastal plains with the Maracaibo district, the llanos, a large part of the Guayana Highlands, and a few of the lower mountain valleys. The islands are the coolest, the llanos the warmest part of the tropical region; the hottest section of the latter is south and west, the farthest from the sea. Along the coast the temperature ranges from 64°-68° to 93°-95°. The temperate region includes the most thickly settled sections at moderate elevation, while the cold mountain heights have comparatively few inhabitants. On the llanos the dry season is from November to May, or June, the rainy following to November. The coast has two rainy seasons, December and January, and April to July. The Orinoco Delta and parts of the Guiana section are the most unhealthful; the lowest death rate, rather strangely, is in the cities of the llanos, the next lowest in the regions of the Andes and the Caribbean Mountains.