VenezuelaGeography
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Location: |
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana
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Geographic coordinates: |
8 00 N, 66 00 W
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Map references: |
South America
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Area: |
total: 912,050 sq km
land: 882,050 sq km
water: 30,000 sq km
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Area - comparative: |
slightly more than twice the size of California
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Land boundaries: |
total: 4,993 km
border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km
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Coastline: |
2,800 km
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Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 15 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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Climate: |
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
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Terrain: |
Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m
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Natural resources: |
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
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Land use: |
arable land: 2.95%
permanent crops: 0.92%
other: 96.13% (2001)
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Irrigated land: |
540 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards: |
subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts
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Environment - current issues: |
sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast; threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations
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Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed but not ratified:: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note: |
on major sea and air routes linking North and South America; Angel Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the world's highest waterfall
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More about Venezuela:
Introduction
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues
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