Caracas

Caracas is the capital city of Venezuela. Santiago de León de Caracas was founded by Diego de Losada in 1567. It is where Simon Bolivar was born. The city has nearly 6 million people, who live in the metropolitan area. Caracas is the center of the economical activity of the country and also hosts the main government offices of Venezuela.

City
Santiago de León de Caracas
250px
Coat of arms of
 
Coordinates: 10°30′N 66°55′W / 10.500°N 66.917°W / 10.500; -66.917Coordinates: 10°30′N 66°55′W / 10.500°N 66.917°W / 10.500; -66.917
CountryVenezuela
StateVenezuelan Capital District
Miranda
MunicipalityLibertador
Founded25 July 1567
Founded byDiego de Losada
MetropolitanMunicipalities: Libertador, Chacao, Baruta, Sucre, El Hatillo
Government
 • TypeMayor-council
 • BodyAlcaldía Metropolitana de Caracas
 • MayorCarmen Meléndez (PSUV)
Area
 • Metro
1,930 km2 (750 sq mi)
Elevation
900 m (3,000 ft)
Population
 (2009)
 • Density1,431.5/km2 (3,708/sq mi)
 • Metro
5,196,514
Time zoneUTC-04:30 (VST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-04:30 (not observed)

After WW2 the city has experienced a huge growth, thanks to the oil revenues of the country. Nearly half a million Europeans immigrated to the city in the 1950s ( that had in those years only one million inhabitants) and so Caracas developed a typical western-European look in the new modern areas.

Geography

Caracas is contained entirely within a valley of the Venezuelan Central Range, and is separated from the Caribbean coast by a roughly 15-kilometer (9 mi) expanse of El Ávila National Park. The valley is relatively small and quite irregular, and the altitude varies from between 870 and 1,043 meters (2,854 and 3,422 ft) above sea level; the historic center lies at about 900 meters (3,000 feet) above sea level.[1] This, along with the rapid population growth, has profoundly influenced the urban development of the city.[2] The most elevated point of the Capital District, wherein the city is located, is the Pico El Ávila, which rises to 2,159 meters (7,083 feet).[1]

The main body of water in Caracas is the Guaire River, which flows across the city and empties into the Tuy River, which is also fed by the El Valle and San Pedro rivers, in addition to numerous streams which descend from El Ávila. The La Mariposa and Camatagua [es] reservoirs provide water to the city.[3][4][5][6] The city is occasionally subject to earthquakes – notably in 1641 and 1967.

Geologically, Caracas was formed in the Late Cretaceous period, with much of the rest of the Caribbean, and sits on what is mostly metamorphic rock. Deformation of the land in this period formed the region.[7]

Climate

Caracas has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw); fresh due to the elevation and with two distinct seasons: the rainy season, and the dry season.[8]

Climate data for Chacao, Caracas Venezuela 1961–2022
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 34.0
(93.2)
34.5
(94.1)
35.5
(95.9)
37.6
(99.7)
36.9
(98.4)
34.5
(94.1)
35.9
(96.6)
36.9
(98.4)
35.2
(95.4)
34.8
(94.6)
32.9
(91.2)
32.4
(90.3)
37.6
Average high °C (°F) 27.7
(81.9)
27.4
(81.3)
29.5
(85.1)
30.2
(86.4)
31.2
(88.2)
30.5
(86.9)
29.5
(85.1)
29.0
(84.2)
29.0
(84.2)
29.0
(84.2)
28.0
(82.4)
27.4
(81.3)
29.03
(84.26)
Daily mean °C (°F) 20.3
(68.5)
20.4
(68.7)
22.1
(71.8)
23.4
(74.1)
23.6
(74.5)
23.5
(74.3)
22.5
(72.5)
22.3
(72.1)
22.2
(72)
21.9
(71.4)
21.5
(70.7)
19.5
(67.1)
21.93
(71.48)
Average low °C (°F) 16.0
(60.8)
16.5
(61.7)
17.5
(63.5)
17.1
(62.8)
20.2
(68.4)
20.2
(68.4)
18.0
(64.4)
18.0
(64.4)
17.9
(64.2)
17.6
(63.7)
17.0
(62.6)
17.0
(62.6)
17.75
(63.95)
Record low °C (°F) 4.5
(40.1)
7.2
(45)
4.7
(40.5)
8.9
(48)
11.1
(52)
12.4
(54.3)
12.6
(54.7)
12.2
(54)
11.0
(51.8)
10.0
(50)
7.7
(45.9)
6.8
(44.2)
4.5
(40.1)
Precipitation mm (inches) 5.3
(0.209)
4.7
(0.185)
9.9
(0.39)
80.9
(3.185)
143.5
(5.65)
108.7
(4.28)
130.3
(5.13)
181.9
(7.161)
177.0
(6.969)
108.9
(4.287)
60.9
(2.398)
10.0
(0.394)
1,022
(40.236)
Humidity 71 66 62 60 67 75 74 73 76 78 77 75 71
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 1 1 1 2 10 12 15 15 13 10 4 2 86
Sunshine hours 220.8 229.4 268.5 242.8 216.3 171.7 192.5 204.8 183.4 200.4 199.2 212.2 2,542.0
Source: [8]

Sports

All the best teams of the sports done in Venezuela are concentrated in the metropolitan area of Caracas. Between those teams we have:

Famous sites

  • Avila National Park
  • Humbolt Tramway
  • Simon Bolivar Birthplace
  • Caracas Cathedral
  • Bolivar Square
  • Altamira Square
  • East Park
  • Los Proceres
  • Parque Central
  • Centro Comercial Tamanaco
  • Sambil Mall

Buildings

Many beautiful modern buildings can be seen in the city. Here there are some of them:

File:Joseph Thomas 1839 000.jpg
Caracas in a 1840 painting
  • Torre de Parque Central.JPG - Parque Central
  • 50px - Plaza Venezuela Buildings
  • - Casa de Italia
  • Plaza Francia e inmediaciones (Altamira) 2013 012.jpg - Torre Britanica
  • La Previsora 2012.jpg - Torre La Previsora

Caracas Media

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
  2. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
  3. "Guaire River". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  4. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
  5. Aloui, Fethi; Dinçer, İbrahim (22 August 2018). Exergy for a better environment and improved sustainability. 2, Applications. Cham, Switzerland. p. 716. ISBN 978-3-319-62575-1. OCLC 1049802575.
  6. Steward, Julian Haynes (1946). Handbook of South American Indians. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 475. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  7. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Clima: Distrito Capital".