Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
natural regions
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate.
From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and f ...
(''Regiones naturales'') are divided by natural geography, and administrative regions (''Regiones político-administrativas'') are delineated for the purpose of regional
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.
** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...
.
Administrative regions
Administrative regions (''Regiones político-administrativas'') are grouped from Venezuela's neighboring states, federal dependencies, and the capital district for the purpose of local
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.
** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...
in the process of
regional development
Regional development refers to a broad category of policies aimed at reducing regional disparities within an economy or across economies by devoting resources to underdeveloped areas. Regional development can be national or international in natur ...
. The Political-Administrative regions were created from a
decree
A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...
on 11 June 1969 and have been modified since their creation, and there are currently nine regions.
Notes:
# Population figures are 2005 estimates
# The area of the Páez municipality has, for the time being, been incorrectly counted here as belonging to the Llanos Region, rather than the Andean Region.
Natural regions
Natural regions (''Regiones naturales'') are grouped based on a
natural region
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate.
From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...
, regardless of population or development, and formed from geo-physical criteria such as geological constitution,
relief
Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
,
climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...
,
hydrography
Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary ...
,
vegetation
Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...
,
soils
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by restri ...
, and others. Venezuela is considered one of 18
Megadiverse countries
A megadiverse country is one of a group of nations that house the majority of Earth's species and high numbers of endemic species. Conservation International identified 17 megadiverse countries in 1998, all of which are located at least parti ...
by
Conservation International
Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, in Arlington County, Virginia.
CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and co ...
, and the Natural regions do not always correspond exactly to the borders of the states.
Venezuela is divided into eight Natural regions:
*
Guayana Natural Region
The Guayana natural region (Spanish: ''Región natural de Guayana''), also simply known as Guayana ( English: ''Guiana'') in Venezuela, is a large massif of approximately area, equivalent to 48.2% of the total continental territory of the countr ...