Venezuela: Climate & Natural Resources

Venezuela's climate is predominantly tropical, with latitude exerting little influence compared to elevation and local terrain. Coastal cities such as Maracaibo and La Guaira run hot year-round, while highland cities including Caracas and Mérida are markedly cooler, and the highest Andean settlements approach tundra conditions. Rather than four seasons, most of the country experiences a wet period from roughly May to November and a drier stretch from December through March. Rainfall varies enormously by region: the arid northwestern coast receives well under 500 millimeters a year, while the Orinoco Delta and the Llanos can see more than 2,200 millimeters, producing seasonal flooding followed by drought.

The country holds some of the world's largest known petroleum reserves, concentrated beneath and around Lake Maracaibo in the northwest, and oil has anchored Venezuela's export economy since the early twentieth century. The Guiana Highlands in the south, covering more than two-fifths of the national territory, contain deposits of iron ore, gold, and diamonds alongside considerable hydroelectric potential, drawn in particular from the Caroní River. Forests cover roughly two-fifths of the land and savanna grassland about half, though soils are often poor outside areas of fertile alluvial or volcanic deposit, limiting the extent of arable land.

Geographers typically divide Venezuela into four regions: the Maracaibo lowlands, the northern mountains that form the easternmost extension of the Andes, the Llanos plains, and the remote Guiana Highlands. The Orinoco River and its chief tributary, the Caroní, carry roughly four-fifths of the country's surface runoff toward the Atlantic through a broad delta. In the Guiana Highlands, Angel Falls, formed by water dropping from a tepui plateau, is the world's highest waterfall. Lake Maracaibo, ringed by oil infrastructure, ranks among South America's largest natural lakes.