Venezuela

tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast

Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

2,800 km

10,550 sq km (2012)

South America

subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts

note 1: the country lies on major sea and air routes linking North and South America note 2: Venezuela has some of the most unique geology in the world; tepuis are the massive table-top mountains of the western Guiana Highlands that tend to be isolated and thus support unique endemic plant and animal species; their sheer cliffsides help create some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world, including Angel Falls, the world's highest (979 m; 3,212 ft) that drops from Auyan Tepui

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

almost six times the size of Georgia; slightly more than twice the size of California

8 00 N, 66 00 W

most of the population is concentrated in the northern and western highlands along an eastern spur at the northern end of the Andes, an area that includes the capital of Caracas

Rio Negro (shared with Colombia [s] and Brazil [m]) - 2,250 km; Orinoco river source and mouth (shared with Colombia) - 2,101 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth