• Venezuela is located on the northern coast of South America.

• It borders the Caribbean Sea, the Northern Atlantic Ocean, Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia.

• Venezuela is broken up into four different sections separated by mountains.

• It is separated into:-The Maracaibo lowlands-The north and northwest mountainous region-The Orinoco basin, with the llanos (plains of green) on its northern border and great forest areas in south and southwest-The Guiana highlands, south of the Orinoco, nearly half the territory

(according to infoplease.com)

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• Federal multiparty republic with a unicameral legislature. • It has a national assembly of 167 members.• The head of state and government is President Hugo Chavez

Frias. He was elected in 2002 and remains the president to this day. He is elected for a six year term and may be elected for a second term.

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• 1 US Dollar = 4,296.00 Venezuelan Bolivar• 1 Venezuelan Bolivar = 0.0002328 US Dollar

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• The country of Venezuela has many natural resources.– Petroleum– Natural Gas– Iron Ore– Gold– Bauxite– Other Minerals– Hydropower– Diamonds

The countries chief crops are:

-corn

-sorghum

-sugarcane

-rice

-bananas

-vegetables

-coffee

• Kindergarten through university is a free education.• The government believes that every citizen is entitled

to an education.• The school year begins in September and ends in June or

sometimes July.• Children are required to attend school at the age of

six. At seven years old, they leave primary school to attend a basic secondary education until the age of fourteen or fifteen.

• Poverty is a part of this country so it is estimated that about 20% of the people in Venezuela do not have a formal education.

• Fortunately, there has been a rise in the student population.

• The mother plays a key role in the Venezuelan family culture.

• Many families have parents and siblings with the aunts, uncles, and grandparents who live near by.

• Families are very close in this culture, so children usually live with their parents until they are married or in their mid-twenties.

• Marriage is usually based on social status. It is expected that one marries someone of the same or higher social status or one that is “whiter” or of the same race. If one does not do this, they are considered to be going against what is expected.

• The two top tourist attractions in Venezuela are:– Angels Falls (Salto Angel)

• -This attraction is a beautiful waterfall which falls 979m. It is the highest waterfall in the world. The only way someone can get there is by a plane ride over the falls or by a three day boat ride. The best times to go are during the rainy seasons of May through November.

– Isla Margarita• -This attraction is a luxurious island best known for its beaches. Planes even fly directly to this sight or it can be reached by ferry. Tourists and Venezuelans alike, enjoy this beautiful beach.

• Columbus discovered the country of Venezuela in 1498. However a Spanish missionary was the first European to settle in Cumana in 1520.

• In 1731, it was made a captaincy general.• Later, Venezuela declared its independence from

Spain in 1811. This began the Venezuelan War of Independence. A year later, an earthquake struck Caracas and helped to bring down the first Venezuelan government. There were many battles in this country such as the Battle of Carabobo and the Battle of Lake Maracaibo. For about twenty years, the war raged of many Venezuelans.

• Dictators ruled Venezuela from 1830 until the overthrow of Marcos Perez Jimenez in 1958.

• In the 1970s, Venezuela’s economy was doing great due to its production of oil.

• Due to Venezuela’s diverse population, the food has many different influences from Italian, Spanish, and French to indigenous and African flavors.

• The most famous dish: – Arepa - a cornmeal cake that can

be baked, grilled or fried. It is eaten with most of their meals.

• Other dishes:– Cachapa (mix of corn, sugar,

salt and oil)– Tostones (plantains fried

twice)– Empanadas (deep fried,

stuffed corn flour patties)

Desserts:–Besito de coco (popular round coconut cookies)–Cannoli (pastry tube filled with ricotta cheese/honey/chocolate)–Quesillo (similar to flan: egg yolk and syrup)

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Glogster

• http://jsand.glogster.com/venezuela-spanish-project/

"Culture of Venezuela - Traditional, History, People, Traditions, Women, Beliefs, Food, Customs, Family, Social, Marriage, Men, Life, Immigrants, Population, Religion, Rituals, History and Ethnic Relations.” Countries and Their Cultures. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. <http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Venezuela.html>.

"The Education System in Venezuela.” Study Abroad and International Exchange. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. <http://www.spainexchange.com/guide/VE-education.htm>.

Janssen, Sarah, and M. L. Liu. "Venezuela." The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2010. New York, NY: World Almanac, 2010. 853. Print.

Safra, Jacob E. "Countries of the World - Venezuela." Time Almanac. New York: Time Home Entertainment, 2009. 649. Print.

"Top Rated Tourist Attractions in Venezuela.” PlanetWare Travel Guide - Hotels, Attractions, Pictures, Maps & More. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. <http://www.planetware.com/top-tourist-attractions/venezuela-ven.htm>.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108140.html

• http://www.gourmetgirlmagazine.com/09/07/images/venezuela.jpg (slide 2 location)• http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/venezuela_veg_1972.jpg (slide 3 geography)• http://www.randytrahan.com/ocov/images/Gen_Interest/Venezuelan_Money/Coins_of_Venezuela.jpg (slide 5 money

small picture)• http://www.venaven.com/images/venezuela-bolivar-fuerte.jpg (slide 5 money background)• http://media.photobucket.com/image/angel%20falls/jfyffe/raidmyspace/layouts/scenery/angel_falls/angel_falls_bg.jpg

(slide 9 tourist attractions angel falls)• http://importaperu.com/bluestartravel/imgs/img_15.jpg (slide 10 tourist attractions isls margarita)• http://www.southamerica.cl/Venezuela/Food.htm • http://www.travelblog.org/World/flags/venezuelan-large-flag-ve.gif (slide 1)• http://www.venezuelatuya.com/wallpapers/imagenes/arepas1.jpg (food slide arepa)• http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3181/2605101107_621fb063eb.jpg (food slide baracas de coco)• http://ode2food.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/tostones.jpg (food slide tostones)• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/images/I48090-2004Mar10L&imgrefurl=http://

trumpetoftruth.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/venezualan-president-has-announced-his-government-will-forgive-all-of-haitis-debt-owed-to-his-nation/&usg=__RLqobxdqb3Y0RyepnNU2jP4beT0=&h=420&w=590&sz=80&hl=en&start=2&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Ed8dl8AU_Isx1M:&tbnh=96&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvenezuelan%2Bgovernment%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26tbs%3Disch:1 (government sldie)