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Venezuela Topography
Most observers describe Venezuela in terms of four
fairly
well-defined regions: the Maracaibo lowlands in the
northwest,
the northern mountains extending in a broad east-west arc
from
the Colombian border along the Caribbean Sea, the wide
Orinoco
plains
(
llanos--see Glossary) in central Venezuela, and the
highly dissected Guiana highlands in the southeast.
The Maracaibo lowlands form a large spoon-shaped oval
bounded
by mountains on three sides and open to the Caribbean on
the
north. The area is remarkably flat with only a gentle
slope
toward the center and away from the mountains that border
the
region. Lago de Maracaibo occupies much of the lower-lying
territory. Areas around the southern part of Lago de
Maracaibo
are swampy, and, despite the rich agricultural land and
significant petroleum deposits, the area was still thinly
populated in 1990.
The mountains bordering the Caribbean Sea are actually
the
northeasternmost extension of the Andes chain. Broken by
several
gaps, these high mountains have peaks over 4,500 meters;
the
fertile valleys between the ranges contain most of
Venezuela's
population, industry, and agriculture. The discontinuous
westernmost range runs along the Colombian border and is
the
least densely populated part of this region. The ranges
southeast
of Lago de Maracaibo contain some of the highest peaks in
the
country (Pico Bolívar reaches 5,007 meters), a few of
which are
snowcapped year-round.
A broad gap separates this mountainous area from
another
rugged pair of ranges that parallel the north-central
coast. The
series of valleys between these two parallel ranges
constitutes
the core area of the country; as the site of burgeoning
metropolitan Caracas, this comparatively small area hosts
the
country's densest population, the most intensive
agriculture, and
the best transportation network. Another broad gap
separates this
area from the easternmost group of mountains, a series of
dissected hills and uplands that rise steeply from the
Caribbean
and extend eastward almost to Trinidad.
The great expanse of lowlands known as the Orinoco
plains
extends westward from the Caribbean coast to the Colombian
border
between the northern mountains and the Río Orinoco. This
region
is commonly known as the llanos, although it also contains
large
stretches of swampland in the Orinoco Delta and near the
Colombian border. The area slopes gradually away from the
highland areas that surround it; elevations in the llanos
never
exceed 200 meters. North of the Río Apure, 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 elevations lower.
One of the oldest land forms in South America, the
Guiana
highlands rise almost immediately south and east of the
Río
Orinoco. Erosion has created unusual formations in this
region.
Comprising over half of the country, the highlands consist
primarily of plateau areas scored by swiftly running
tributaries
of the Orinoco. The most conspicuous topographical feature
of the
region is the Gran Sabana, a large, deeply eroded high
plateau
that rises from surrounding areas in abrupt cliffs up to
800
meters high. Above the rolling surface of the Gran Sabana
massive, flat-topped bluffs emerge; many of these bluffs
(referred to as tepuis by the Venezuelans) reach
considerable altitudes. The most famous tepui
contains
Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall.
Data as of December 1990
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