Venezuela

Kelsey Meriwether, Hailey Sibilia, and Krina Patel Mr. Bensing Periods- 3 and 7 22 Apr 2014

Thesis Statement Venezuela is a wonderful place to move to, due to its many land and water features, interesting daily life, and thriving economy.

Climate and Weather The climate and geography of Venezuela is lovely. In different parts of Venezuela, the amount of rainfall varies greatly. In the Guiana Highlands, the annual rainfall averages about 120 inches. The Caribbean Coast is mostly dry; some areas only receive about 16 inches per year. In the eastern Llanos, annual rainfall averages about 40 inches. Venezuela has a mild climate year round, and on the mountains it is less warm, on the lakes it is warmer. The highest average temperature, 83 degrees Fahrenheit, occurs in the central part of the Llanos and in the northern part of the Maracaibo Basin. Most of the country is a gorgeous tropical or subtropical climate (Ewell).

Water Features Lake Maracaibo has many deposits of petroleum, a valuable resource (Knapp). Lake Maracaibo covers 5,217 square miles in Venezuela and is the largest lake in South America. Large, colorful regions surround Angel Falls, a waterfall 3,212 ft. tall, and small planes are used for a tour of the falls (Eidt).

Land Features The southern part of the Guiana Highlands is covered mostly in beautiful tropical forests (McCoy). Petroleum is Venezuela’s number one leading mineral product. Some other mineral products include bauxite, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gold, and phosphate rock. The Guiana Highlands provide valuable deposits of iron ore, gold, and bauxite.

Daily Life Daily life in Venezuela is very different from the average daily life in the United States. Even though it’s different, Venezuelans lead fairly normal lives. Men wear open-necked shirts usually with khaki trousers. Women wear printed dresses or sometimes blouses with skirts. Not only is their clothing different, but also their schedules. In some areas of Venezuela they follow their Latin-American schedule, giving a two-hour break for midday meal. Lunch in Venezuela includes sancaho, which is meat and vegetable stew, and arepas, which is white cornbread (“Venezuela” Encyclopedia ).

Holidays Holidays are very fun occasions. Close friends and families celebrate important events such as weddings, funerals, baptisms, birthdays, and holidays (McCoy). Christmas Eve, a hugely celebrated holiday, is spent with family over a big meal with special native dishes (“Venezuela” Factcite ). Hallacus, corn meal dough filled with varieties of food, is one of the foods served on Christmas Eve (McCoy). Instead of getting presents on Christmas, children receive their gifts on Three King’s Day, which is on January 6 th (“Venezuela” Factcite ).

Recreation Venezuelans also enjoy different types of recreation. Venezuelans really enjoy sports like baseball and soccer. Not only do they enjoy sports but also dancing such as rhythmic salsa, merengue, and guarcha. Four-stringed guitars, the harp, and maracas are part of the music played with the dances. Young Venezuelans don’t enjoy the kind of music the adults do, instead rock music is popular among them (McCoy).

Economy Venezuela’s economy is largely impacted by oil. Venezuela’s oil revenues are very important for the entire world’s oil products. In 2001, Venezuela was supplying 15% of all United States oil imports. The oil-rich had one of the highest per-capita incomes in Latin America (Ewell). The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is $402.1 billion in 2012 (“Venezuela ” Factcite). The unemployment is 8% as of Venezuela’s economy has fluctuated due to the oil community that supports most of Venezuela’s economy(Ewell).

Education and Healthcare Venezuelans have a different education and healthcare system than the United States. The Venezuelan government passed a law that states that children from ages 6-15 must go to school (McCoy). The government got rid of public school tuition so every child can get a free education from kindergarten through graduate school (Ewell) (McCoy). More than 90% of children go to primary school, yet only 40% continue on to a secondary school, and an even smaller group continues on to a university (Ewell). The country has many public and private universities and colleges (McCoy). These schools teach military education and leftist ideology (Ewell). The Venezuelan government sponsors a limited program of health, accident, and retirement insurance. (“Venezuela” Refseek)

Government Venezuela has a federal republic government system. The government leader is Nicolas Maduro since 2013 (“Venezuela” Factcite ). The presidential term in Venezuela is 5 to 6 years (Ewell). The government branches are executive, legislative, judicial, “citizen power”, and “electoral power” (“Venezuela” Factcite). The vice-president of Venezuela coordinates the legislative and executive branches of government (Ewell). Venezuela became independent from Spain in 1811, later it became part of a state called “Gran Colombia”. It then seceded and established its own government in 1830 (“Venezuela” Factcite ).

Nicolas Maduro

Works Cited Edit, Robert C. “Angel Falls”. World Book Student. World Book Web. 17 Mar Ewell, Judith. “Venezuela” Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online Web. 13 Mar Knapp, Gregory “Lake Maracaibo” World Book Student. World Book Web. 15 Mar Knapp, Gregory. “Orinoco River” World Book Student. World Book Web. 17 Mar

Works Cited Cont. McCoy, Jennifer L. “Venezuela”. World Book Student. World Book Web. 13 Mar “Venezuela” Encyclopedia Americana Grolier Online Web. 14 Mar “Venezuela” Factcite: Essential Information. 44 th Edition. Lincoln Lib P Web. 13 Mar “Venezuela” Refseek. Microsoft Encarta. October 31 st, Web. 14 Mar “Williams, Jerry R. “Llanos”. World Book Student. World Book Web. 14 Mar. 2014