Geography of Venezuela

Localization: Northern of the South America, in edge of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic ocean , Colombia and the Guyana.

geographical Coordinates: 8° 00 ' NR, 66° 00 ' W

Surface:
total: : 912050 km ²
grounds: : 882050 km ²
immersed surfaces: : 30000 km ²

comparative Surface: A little less twice France.

Borders:
overall length: : 4993 km
countries bordering Brazil (: 2200 km), Colombia (: 2050 km) and Guyana (743 km).

Length of the coasts: : 2800 km

maritime Territory:
contiguous zone: 15 nautical Miles (mn)
continental shelf: 200 m of depth, or until the depth of exploitation.
exclusive economic Zone: 200 mn
Territorial water: 12 mn

Climate: Tropical, hot and wet, but more moderated in altitude.

Territory: the chain of the the Andes and the Maracaibo lowlands in the North-West; central plains ( Ilanos ; Guiana Hignlands in south-east.

extreme Altitudes:
not low: Caribbean Sea: 0 m
not highest: Bolivar Pico (Columna): : 5007 Mr.

Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, hydro-electricity, ore of Iron, Gold, Bauxite, Diamond and other minerals

Occupation of the territory:
cultivable surfaces: 4%
cultivated zones: 1%
zones in grazing ground: 20%
forests and wooded areas: 34%
others: 41% (estimate of 1993)

irrigated Surface: : 1900 km ² (estimate of 1993)

Natural disasters: earthquakes, risks of tidal wave, periodic dryness, landslides.

Environment - current problems: Pollution of the lagoon of Valencia by the sewers. Urban pollution and pollution with hydrocarbons of the lagoon of Maracaibo, deforestation, impoverishment of the soil, urban and industrial pollution, primarily along the Caribbean coast.

Environment - international agreements:

Participle with the treaties concerning: the Antarctic, the biodiversity, climate changes, turning into a desert, species in danger, waste harmful, conservation of the sea life, the prohibition of the nuclear tests, the protection of the layer of ozone, maritime pollution, Tropical Timber 83 , Tropical Timber 94 , marshes, fishing with the baleine.
signed but not ratified the treaty yet concerning: Marine Dumping .

geographical Note: the country is on the maritime and air main roads between the north and the south of the American continent.