🇻🇪

Venezuela

✨ The land of natural records

Venezuela is a country in northern South America, bordered by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Colombia to the west, Brazil to the south, and Guyana to the east. Its capital is Caracas. Covering about 916,000 km², the country has a highly varied geography. The Andes extend across the northwest, while the vast Llanos form broad tropical grasslands in the center.

Farther south rise the Guiana Highlands, an ancient landscape of plateaus and deep valleys. Among these formations is Auyán-tepui, from which Angel Falls descends. With a total height of 979 metres, it is the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall. The Orinoco, one of South America's major rivers, crosses much of the country before reaching the Atlantic through a large delta.

Venezuela also contains Lake Maracaibo, one of the largest lakes in South America, in the northwest. Its position between the Caribbean and the interior gives the country a tropical climate, although temperatures and rainfall vary greatly with altitude and region. Spanish is the official language, alongside numerous Indigenous languages spoken by different communities.

Venezuela is particularly known for its petroleum resources: it holds the world's largest proven crude-oil reserves, much of them consisting of very heavy crude found in the Orinoco Oil Belt. Other important natural resources include natural gas, iron ore, bauxite, gold and hydropower potential. This combination of diverse landscapes, major rivers and abundant natural resources makes Venezuela geographically distinctive within South America.

💡 Did you know?

Imagine a waterfall so high that the water turns into mist before even hitting the ground! That is Angel Falls. It is almost 1,000 meters high, which is 20 times higher than Niagara Falls. It inspired the creators of the movie 'Up' for the famous 'Paradise Falls.' To see it, you often have to take a small plane because it is hidden in the middle of an impenetrable jungle.

There is a magical lake in Venezuela called Lake Maracaibo where an incredible light show occurs. Almost every night, thousands of silent lightning bolts strike the sky for hours! This phenomenon is called 'Catatumbo lightning.' It’s the world's largest natural ozone generator and was used as a lighthouse by sailors in the past to find their way in the dark.

Tepuis are extraordinary mountains that look like giant tables set above the jungle. Their summits are flat and have been isolated for millions of years. Because of this isolation, unique plants and small animals that are found nowhere else in the world live there. It is a bit like a lost world where time has no hold.