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Venezuela

Quick Facts: The Geography of Venezuela

Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana. Area: slightly more than twice the size of California. total: 352,142 square miles (912,050 sq km) land: 340,559 square miles (882,050 sq km) water: 11,583 square miles (30,000 sq km) Borders: Brazil, 1,367 miles (2,200 km); Colombia, 1,274 miles (2,050 km); Guyana, 462 miles (743 km).

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moder- ate in highlands. Terrain: Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in the northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in the southeast. Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea—0 feet. highest point: Pico Bolívar—16,427 feet (5,007 meters). Natural hazards: floods, rockslides, mud- slides, periodic droughts.

Source: CIA World Factbook 2015.

Llanos (the Plains), although it also contains large stretches of swampland in the Orinoco Delta and the region near the Colombian border. The area slopes gradually away from the highland areas that surround it. Elevations in the llanos never exceed 656 feet (200 meters). North of the Río Apure, a tributary of the Orinoco, rivers flowing out of the northern mountains cut shallow valleys, leaving eroded ridges that give the land a gently rolling appearance. South of the Apure, the terrain is flatter and the elevations are lower. The Guiana Highlands, which cover almost half the country, suddenly