Venezuela Trivia: 20 Fascinating Facts About the Country

Venezuela packs an unusual number of world records into one country: the highest waterfall on the planet, one of the largest lakes in South America, and a lightning storm that behaves like it is on a schedule. Here are twenty things worth knowing.

Geography and nature

• Angel Falls is the highest waterfall in the world, dropping almost a kilometre from the Auyán-tepui.
• It sits inside Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The park’s flat-topped mountains are called tepuis — among the oldest rock formations on Earth.
• Pico Bolívar, in the Andes near Mérida, is the country’s highest peak.
• Lake Maracaibo is one of the largest bodies of water in South America.
• Venezuela has coastline on both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Catatumbo lightning

Where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo, storms produce one of the highest concentrations of lightning anywhere on the planet — night after night, for much of the year. Sailors are said to have used it for navigation. It is the kind of fact that sounds invented and is not.

Symbols and wildlife

• The turpial is the national bird.
• The araguaney, with its bright yellow blossom, is the national tree.
• The orchid — the "flor de mayo" — is the national flower.
• Venezuela is consistently ranked among the most biodiverse countries in the world.

History

• Simón Bolívar, "The Liberator", was born in Caracas in 1783 and helped free several South American nations from Spanish rule.
• Independence was declared in 1811; the decisive Battle of Carabobo came in 1821.
• The name "Venezuela" is usually said to mean "little Venice", after stilt houses early European explorers saw on the water.
• Caracas is the capital and largest city.
• The currency, the bolívar, is named after Bolívar himself.

Food, sport and oil

• The arepa — a corn flatbread split and stuffed — is eaten at any hour of the day.
• Pabellón criollo, the national dish, pairs shredded beef with rice, black beans and fried plantain.
• Baseball, not football, is the most popular sport, and Venezuela has sent a long line of players to the Major Leagues.
• Venezuela holds some of the largest proven oil reserves on Earth and was a founding member of OPEC in 1960.
• Angostura bitters, now in cocktails worldwide, originated in the Venezuelan town of Angostura.

How many did you already know? Try a quiz and find out where the gaps are.