Zulia

Zulia is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, located in the northwest of the country on the border with Colombia. The capital is Maracaibo.

The name comes from the name of a plant ( Lobelia, Lobelia erinus Latin ) in a Chibcha language or refers to the eponymous river, which empties into Lake Maracaibo in the southwest of the state.

From the oil from the Maracaibo Lake (one of the largest reserves of oil and natural gas in the Western Hemisphere ) where a large part of the revenue of the country.

Geography

Zulia has a long ( and mostly uninhabited ) border with Colombia to the north and west, from the Guajira Peninsula to the mountains of Perijá. In the south it borders the Venezuelan Andean Táchira, Mérida and Trujillo and to the east by Lara and Falcón.

Within its boundaries is the Lake Maracaibo, the largest lake in South America. The ( controversial ) Legend has it that is reminiscent of Venice gave stilt houses ( palafitos ), who had built the anus ( the indigenous natives) above the water, his name Venezuela ( Little Venice ). Just north, the Gulf of Venezuela.

With 63.1 thousand km ² Zulia is the fifth largest state in the country.

Administrative divisions

Zulia is divided into 21 counties ( municipios ):

Economy

Zulia is dependent on the production of oil, which is to a large extent carried out ( in the Lake Maracaibo ) (80 % of the country's production comes from Zulia ). Its sales revenues are the main source of income of Venezuela.

In the south is done farming and animal husbandry, mainly palm oil, grapes, milk, cheese, beef and pork, poultry, but also bananas in many sizes and varieties, sugarcane, coconuts, cotton, beans and melons.

In the waters of Zulia ( Maracaibo Lake and the Gulf of Venezuela), there are also extensive fishing.

Sons and daughters of the state

• Humberto Fernández Morán, scientists (* 1924, † 1999)
• Rafael Urdaneta, president of Greater Colombia in 1823, 1824
• Rafael María Baralt, writer and journalist (* 1810, † 1860)
• Luis Aparicio, Baseball Player