Geography (Venezuela)
=====================


     Location:
       Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea between Colombia and
       Guyana
     Map references:
       South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
     Area:
      total area:
       912,050 km2
      land area:
       882,050 km2
      comparative area:
       slightly more than twice the size of California
     Land boundaries:
       total 4,993 km, Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km
     Coastline:
       2,800 km
     Maritime claims:
      contiguous zone:
       15 nm
      continental shelf:   200 m depth or to depth of exploitation
      exclusive economic zone:
       200 nm
      territorial sea:
       12 nm
     International disputes:
       claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo river; maritime boundary dispute
       with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela
     Climate:
       tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
     Terrain:
       Andes mountains and Maracaibo lowlands in northwest; central plains
       (llanos); Guyana highlands in southeast
     Natural resources:
       petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower,
       diamonds
     Land use:
      arable land:
       3%
      permanent crops:
       1%
      meadows and pastures:
       20%
      forest and woodland:
       39%
      other:
       37%
     Irrigated land:
       2,640 km2 (1989 est.)
     Environment:
       subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts; increasing
       industrial pollution in Caracas and Maracaibo
     Note:
       on major sea and air routes linking North and South America