Venezuela

ven-e-zwe'la, a republic of South America. It lies on the Caribbean Sea, between British Guiana and Colombia. Area, about 364,000 square miles. Capital, Caracas. Chief seaport, La Guayra. The name Venezuela is Spanish, meaning "Little Venice." It was given by Amerigo Vespucci in 1499 in reference to the shallows of Lake Maracaibo in which the natives were found living in houses erected on long poles standing in the water.

There are two distinct physical regions. The eastern portion of the country consists chiefly of the vast plains of the Orinoco. The western portion contains two lofty, spreading, snow-capped spurs of the Andes thrown north and eastward like a Y to the Caribbean. Between these spurs lies a deep indentation of the sea, a veritable Mediterranean, known as Lake Maracaibo. Its southern extremity is three hundred miles from the entrance. The latter is about eight miles wide. The shores, in full sight of perpetual snow, are said to be the hottest region on the western continent.

The climate of the lowlands is everywhere intensely tropical. Caracas, the capital, a city of 80,000 people, is situated at some distance from the coast at an elevation of 3,000 feet. At this height the climate is comfortable, the extremes being 84 degree and 48 degree F.

The leading occupation is agriculture. Tillage is confined chiefly to the tablelands and mountain valleys of the north, above the altitude of 2,000 feet. The principal products are coffee, tobacco, sugar, cotton, fruits, corn, cacao, and, in the more elevated regions, wheat. The inhabitants gather sarsaparilla for the Lowell factories, rubber, copal, cinchona bark for quinine, dye woods, and many useful drugs. There are large exportations of the hides of cattle, sheep, and goats.

Vast regions of the Orinoco are as yet unexplored. They are covered with seemingly endless and impenetrable forests of gigantic tropical growth. Collectors find a wealth of insects and birds of every hue and description. Monkeys clamber about, feeding on tropical fruits. The tapir, deer, anteater, sloth, cougar, the boa constrictor, and the Orinoco crocodile are at home here. The crane-like, vermilion-colored flamingo is not rare. Wild ducks, geese, and other waterfowl find a winter paradise here. Millions of tortoise eggs are dug by the Indians for the sake of their oil. The coast waters swarm with fish. The curious manatee and the tumbling porpoise are seen in the lower reaches of the rivers. There are about one-third of a million Indians engaged chiefly in fishing, hunting, curing and gathering nuts, medicinal herbs, etc. Many have become half civilized and are engaged in stock raising.

There is undoubted mineral wealth, but the mines are not extensively developed. Gold, silver, copper, and iron are said to be abundant. There are deposits of sulphur, coal, lead, kaolin, and tin. There are vast lakes of asphalt. Petroleum exists in large but unknown quantities. There are several salt mines. The government farms out the right to gather pearls, sponges, and tortoise shells for one tenth of the product. Pearls alone are gathered to the value of $100,000 a year. There are practically no manufactures. The products of the country are exchanged largely with Great Britain and the United States for dry goods, groceries, hardware, machinery, and flour.

The official language is Spanish. The state religion is Roman Catholic. The chief coin is the bolivar, worth five to the dollar. The president holds office for six years. Education is free. The system includes two universities, twenty-two high schools for boys, eleven high schools for girls, four normal schools, one school of fine arts, one of music, one of engineering, and about fifteen hundred district schools. About one-eighth of the adults can read and write.

Caracas is the center of the railroad, postal, telegraph, and telephone systems. Roads are poor. Traffic is carried on largely by means of pack animals and small mule carts. Venezuela is a country of possibilities.

See Lake Dwellings