Venezuela Geography - 2024

Location

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

Geographic coordinates

8 00 N, 66 00 W

Map references

South America

Area

total: 912,050 sq km

land: 882,050 sq km

water: 30,000 sq km

Area - comparative

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

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 5,267 km

border countries (3): Brazil 2,137 km; Colombia 2,341 km; Guyana 789 km

Coastline

2,800 km

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

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain

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

Elevation

highest point: Pico Bolivar 4,978 m

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 450 m

Natural resources

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

Land use

agricultural land: 24.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 20.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 52.1% (2018 est.)

other: 23.4% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

10,550 sq km (2012)

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s): Lago de Maracaibo - 13,010 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

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

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Orinoco (953,675 sq km)

Population distribution

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

Natural hazards

subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts

Geography - note

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 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 account for some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world including Angel Falls, the world's highest (979 m) that drops off Auyan Tepui