Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-24

therefore. wholly within the torrid zone.
but. as her topography consists not only
of seacoasts and tropical plains and val
leys. but also of lofty mountain chains.
some of whose peaks are covered with
perpetual SHOWS she is endowed. accord
ing to location, with TERRA caliente, or
hot zone: TERRA templada. or temperate
zone, and a TERRA fra. cold zone The
hot climate is found along the coasts
bordering on the Caribbean sea and the
Atlantic ocean. in the basin Of the mighty.
Orinoco and its tributaries, and in the
llanos or plains of Venezuela. The de-
lightful temperate climate prevails espe-
cially in the mountain ridges parallel to
the coast of the Caribbean sea. from east
to west, as "a result of which Caracas.
the capital of the republic, at height of
5000 feet. is so admirably situated The
cold or arctic region of Venezuela lies
in the extreme western and northwestern
sections. among the highest SUBMITS of
the Venezuelan Andes bordering on Co
lombia.
Population Is 2,633,671.
The area of Venezuela is 5S7.7s5 square
miles. comprising an extent of territory
more than the combined areas Of Texas,
Kentucky. Alabama, Mississippi, Louis
lana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. If plac-
ed upon the map of Europe. its area
would completely cover the seven promi-
nent countries of Germany. France. Italy.
Netherlands Belgium, Switzerland and
Ireland Venezuela is. however. so
sparsely settled that its population 5000
is only 1888 81. The combined popula-
ton of the European countries just men
toned is TAT .839 .631: in other words. if as
densely populated as the countries men
toned. Venezuela's territory could easily
accommodate 15O.OOOOO0 inhabitants, or
about 255 persons per square mile.
The extent Of the. republic. may be
further illustrated as follows: If travel
err were to traverse Venezuelan territory
directly from north to south he would
cover a distance of about 500 miles. while
If he were to travel from west TO east
he would have to cross over thousand.
If he were to follow the windings of the
coast lines on the Caribbean sea and the
Atlantic ocean he would be obliged to
travel nearly 1900 miles. If, thence, he
continued on his journey westward into
the interior. along the Venezuelan south
ern frontier, and then northward along
the western back to his starting point.
he would have traversed total distance
of over 6.OO0 miles
The coast of Venezuela is indented by
five considerable CULTS, the most import
ant of which is the Gulf of Maracaibo. on
the Caribbean sea- which leads into the
Lake OF Maracaibo, containing u..o5
square miles, and Astounding in fish and
game of all kinds. Other geographical
facts worth bearing in mind are the fol-
lowing: Veneguela is bounded on the
north by the Caribbean sea and the At
lantic ocean. on the last by the Atlantic,
on the south by British Guiana and Bra
I'll and the west by Colombia.
Great Natural Resources.
The republic has thirty-two ports, forty
mountains and ridges, the highest peak
of which is the snow-capped Sierra Ne
vada de Merida, over 5000 feet; forty
two plateaus. seventy-one islands. eight
extensive river, lake and gulf basins,
seven first-class rivers, thirty three Of the
second class. nineteen Of the third class
and 1000 of the fourth class. The Orinoco
has thrty-six branches. There are two
large lakes and 204 small ones. The
combin river and other photographed
basins of Venezuela drain the enormous
territory of 100000 square miles and con-
tribute greatly toward her natural fertil-
ity.
The principal river. the Orinoco, with
its tributaries, is situated mainly in the