28 6.2 Urban North and Andean West
Learning Objectives
- Understand the dynamics of Venezuela’s urban society and why Venezuela has not experienced a robust rural-to-urban shift to the extent that other countries have.
- Summarize the production of the three main export products of Colombia and explain the US role in their export.
- Compare the three main countries in the Andean West region of South America and understand how they gained their wealth and who has benefited the most over the years from that wealth.
- Outline how Paraguay’s geographical setting has allowed it to gain wealth and provide opportunities for its people.
Venezuela: Oil, Politics, and Globalization
Bordering the Caribbean is the large urban country of Venezuela. The Andes Mountains reach into the northern part of the country and make up the terrain of the northern coastal region all the way to the capital city of Caracas. The large grassland plains of the Llanos extend farther south from the Colombian border to the Orinoco River delta. The Llanos is a large, sparsely populated region that makes up about one-third of the country. It is remote, susceptible to flooding, and used mainly for raising cattle. In the southeast of Venezuela are the Guiana Highlands, which make for a spectacular physical landscape of tropical forests and rugged mountainous terrain. The highlands include Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world. Angel Falls drops 2,647 feet and is Venezuela’s most popular tourist attraction. Lake Maracaibo, a large inland sea located in the western region of the country, is not a true lake in that it is open to the Caribbean Sea, but it is considered the largest inland body of water in South America. Lake Titicaca, located in the Andean region of the Altiplano on the border between Peru and Bolivia, is considered the continent’s largest freshwater lake.
Notice that most of the main cities are located along the northern coast.
CIA World Factbook – public domain.
The total falls is estimated at 3,212 feet; the largest free fall is estimated to be about 2,647 feet—about half a mile. Angel Falls is the country’s number one tourist attraction.
Inti – El Sato Angel – CC BY 2.0.
Venezuela has an assortment of physical regions, but most of the population lives along the northern coast. About 90 percent live in urban areas, and the capital Caracas has the highest population. Less than 5 percent of the population lives south of the Orinoco River, and Amerindian groups live in the interior and along the river.
Included in the Mixed Mestizo Cultural Region, Venezuela has a heavy Spanish influence laid over an Amerindian base in a plantation region known for its African infusion. There is also a strong Caribbean cultural flavor, which is evident in the region’s music and lifestyle. The official language is Spanish, but more than thirty indigenous languages are still spoken in the country.
Venezuela gained its independence from Spain in 1821 and has developed into an urban