Noah+Green

__Venezuela __

__https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/flags/large/ve-lgflag.gif__

This is the map of Venezuela that I drew

__ Climate and Geography __ The location of Venezuela is in the North West region of South America. The square mileage of Venezuela is 352,143 miles. Venezuela is made up of four zones. These are called the West, East, Central and North zones. In the West zone is where the Andes mountain range is located. There are three sections of the Andes mountains: The Merida Range, the Central Highlands, and the North Eastern Highlands. Most of the Venezuelans live in the Andes Mountain range. The West zone also consists of Jungles and High platues. The Central Zone is in the North and that consists of some of Venezuela's largest city's, including Caracas. In the East part of Venezuela there are plains called Los Llanos, which takes up one third of the country. The Los Llanos, or plains, are between the Andean Highlands and the Giuana Highlands. In the South East of Venezuela there is the worlds tallest waterfall, called Angel Falls. The Maracaibo basin is in North Western Venezuela and it has Lake Maracaibo which is the largest lake in South America. There are two main seasons in Venezuela; the wet season and the dry season. The wet season is from May to November. The average year round temperature in Venezuela is 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and the average rainfall is around 70-75 millimeters. Earthquakes are not normal. The lowest point in Venezuela is sea is at the Caribbean sea and the highest point in Venezuela is Pico Bolivar and that is 5,007 meters above sea level.

This is the one of the Andes Mountains []

__History__ The first settlers of Venezuela were the Carib tribe, the Arawak tribe, the Cumanagotos tribe, and the Chibcha tribe. The Cumanagotos lived in North Eastern Venezuela and they barely wore any clothes. In 1498 Christopher Columbus was the first European that came to Venezuela and the first tribe that he saw in Venezuela was the Arawak tribe. Soon after Columbus came, the Spanish started exploring there. In Venezuela, some of the coastal homes were built on stilts, and that reminded the Spanish of Venice, Italy, so that is the reason why they picked the name Venezuela. The Spanish Crown (the name of the Spanish empire) ruled the land in the 1800’s. After many failures, a congress was formed and declared it’s independence in 1811. For the next ten years people were trying to create an actual and complete country. In 1821 Simon Bolivar’s army won at the battle of Carabobo and created an actual republic called Gran Colombia. Gran Colombia was made up of the countries; Columbia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Gran Colombia era ended in 1830 and that is when Venezuela became an independent country. For many years after that Venezuela had a weak government and bad dictatorships. The first democratic election was in 1958 and for a while in the 1970’s and1980’s Venezuela was the most stable country in South America because of its oil. In the 1990’s the economy was very bad from past leaders. The leadership government had so much corruption and there was a large amount of drug trafficking. Hugo Chavez, a former revolutionist, was elected to change the ways of the government.

This is Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's current president []

__Every Day Living and Cultures__ When greeting someone, men usually hug and women hug and sometimes a kiss on the cheek. Venezuelan greetings are usually Hola (hi), Buenos Dias (good morning), Buenos Tardes (good afternoon), and Buenos Nochas (good evening). Venezuelans dress like Europeans or Americans and they believe that fashion is very important. Professional men wear suits, while women tend to wear tighter clothing. In the marketplace, you can rub your thumb and your index together to ask for a price of something. Family is very important in Venezuela, when one family member is in need, everyone tries to help them. The elderly is very much respected, especially the grandmother. The father is customarily the family’s breadwinner, and the wife takes care of the kids and the house. Nowadays, the women work more and the kids go to day care centers, or they stay with their grandparents. Dating in Venezuela is like dating in America, it usually starts around 13 or 14. Most people get married in their thirties. Before a man proposes to a woman, the man usually asks the woman's father first. Engagement usually lasts around a year, and in that year they plan the marriage. In Venezuela, there is two wedding ceremonies, a ceremony for the legal marriage and a ceremony for the religious marriage. After the couple gets their marriage they have a small party with a DJ and some snacks and drinks. After they get religiously married, they is a big party with a lot of guests and the father of the bride pays for it. There is also a lot of dancing, and the first dance of the marriage is usually a waltz. It is thought to be good luck if the bride and groom sneak out towards the end of the party with out saying goodbye and without being noticed. If the couple has enough money, they would go to Europe or another Latin American place for there honey moon. If they don’t have the money, the couple would go someplace else in Venezuela.

This is a picture of a Venezuelan wedding []

__Religion, Holidays, and Festivals__  It is written in the Venezuelan constitution that there is religious freedom. Over 95% of Venezuela is Roman-Catholic. People who live in rural areas tend to be more religious than people who live in more urban areas. The official public holidays of Venezuela are Carnaval, Ash Wednesday, Easter, Declaration of Independence Day (April 19), Day of Workers (May 1), Battle of Carabobo day (July 24), Day of Indigenous Resistance (formerly Columbus Day, October 12), Christmas eve, Christmas, and New Years. Mother’s Day (May 2) is very important because women are so adored. On Mothers Day, the whole family has a meal or picnic together, and the kids traditionally give their mom presents. Carnaval celebrates forty days until Easter, and people dance in the streets, have parades, have water fights, and more. They also dress up in costumes and throw water balloons and eggs at random people on the street. The Battle of Carabobo, led to the independence Venezuela when Simon Bolivars troops beat the Spanish troops. A popular Christmas tradition is La Paradura del Niño, where people put a baby Jesus doll on a big silk hankerchief and is carried around town. On Christmas eve, there is a nice dinner and then the family goes to mass. At midnight, people put a baby Jesus doll in their nativity scene to symbolize Jesus’s birth. On January 6, children get presents from the three kings and open them at midnight.



__Websites__
 * Jennifer L.McCoy World Book 2008
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 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|http://www.lonelyplanet.com/venezuela/history#349526]
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__URL For Map of Venezuela__

[|map picture venezuela.pdf]