MERIDA State

Geopolitical division 
The county of Merida belonged to the viceroyalty of the New Granada up to 1777, when it formed 
it leaves of the General Captaincy of Venezuela. In 1830  was formed the County of Merida. In 
1856, it integrates the County of the Táchira that belonged to the County of Merida. In 1881 
it conforms the Great State of you Walk Them. In 1899 it is bounded to the terms that before 
 had as independent state. In 1909 figure as state Merida. It is divided in twenty-three 
municipalities and sixty six parishes. 

MAP VIAL 
The most important roads of terrestrial communication are: the Pan-American highway (troncal 1) 
and the Trasandina (troncal 7). The highways are very narrow and sheer. Among those 
populations highlight: Public land, Aricagua, Dancers, The Vigía, Lagunillas, The Azulita, Mucuchíes, 
I populate Plain, Santa Cruz of Moorish, Sacred Domingo, Tabay, Timotes, Tovar and Torondoy. 

Basic DATA 
Capital 
Merida. 
Location 
Region of you Walk them. 
Limits 
North: Trujillo and Zulia. 
South: Barinas and Táchira. 
This: Barinas. 
West: Zulia and Táchira. 
Surface 
11 300 km2. 
Percentage of the national territory 
1,23%. it is the tenth fifth entity with bigger surface of the country. 

TOURISM 
It possesses three natural monuments: Lagoon of Urao, in Lagunillas. Chorrera The González, 
in the Sierra of The Breech, with an it escarps of flaw traveled by the waters of the Gulch of 
The González that lower forming fallen of water or chorreras. Plateau of The Galley, close 
of Tovar; it is a medium mountain with a plane summit. In the capital  is the House 
Juan Félix Sánchez, where they exhibit the local artists' works and they carry out shows 
musical. Several museums: Garden Aquarius, Museum of Beekeeping, of Colonial Art, of Art 
Modern and the Museum Mariano Picón Salas. The cable car of Merida, the highest and I release of the one 
world; in the Pico Espejo 4 765 m of height reaches. In Sidings it is the Monument to the 
Crazy Luz Caraballo and the pick The eagle, as well as the National Observatory of Plain of the Cluster, the 
Lagoon of Mucubají and the Black Lagoon. The thermal waters of The Walls are in Dancers 
and the Park of The Chaplaincy. In Public land, the Venezuela of Antier, and in Mucuchíes they are Those 
Eaves, both are towns created to show how one lived in the country several decades 
behind. Juan Félix Sánchez Chapel is in San Rafael of Mucuchíes. In Sacred Domingo 
it is the Truchicultura The Baho. 

Geography 
Relief 
The serranías contrasts with the interior valleys and with the flat lands. Two big lines 
they stand out in the mountainous relief: the Sierra of The Breech or of the North and the Sierra Nevada. The 
Sierra Nevada constitutes the dominant nucleus and you/he/she gathers the biggest altitudes in the country, with those 
picks: Bolivar (5 007 m.s.n.m.), Humboldt (4 942 m.s.n.m.), Bonpland (4 883 m.s.n.m.), The 
Shell (4 922 m.s.n.m.), The León (4 740 m.s.n.m.) and The Bull (4 755 m.s.n.m). In the Sierra of 
The Breech highlights the picks: Bread of Sugar (4 620 m.s.n.m.) and The eagle (4 048 m.s.n.m.) In 
the mountainous sector the floors are quite uniform in spite of the topography. They are of little 
depth, very stony and with scarce presence of organic matter. Where those 
slopes are less marked there are floors of variable thickness and with better conditions 
for their use. Only in the valley landscapes floors are given with conditions 
favorable for agricultural activities. In the piedemonte they spread being of loamy texture, with 
scarce permeability and little depth. Those of plain are those of more agricultural potential. 

Climate 
The climatic types go from the tropical one in the plain, to the type moor in the more mountains 
high, and from the semi-arid one in sectors like Lagunillas, to the very humid one tropical in those 
cloudy slopes of the basins stocking and high of the river Caparo, prevailing inside this 
tipología the humid climates that cover near 90% of the surface of the state. The 
temperature in the entity registers very marked differences due to the characteristics of the one 
mountainous relief. In Palmarito, beside the lake of Maracaibo, the stocking is of 27 ºC and for 
above the 4 000 m.s.n.m. it reaches inferior values to 0 ºC. The precipitations oscillate, 
according to the area, between 700 mm and annual 1 800 mm. 

Hydrography 
Two slopes exist: that of the Caribbean through the lake of Maracaibo and that of the Atlantic, for those 
waters that you/they go to the Orinoco. In the first one it highlights the basin of the Chama. In her, as well as in those basins that drenan to the south of the lake, lagoons are presented formed by effects of those 
glaciers located in the Andean summits. They highlight the lagoons of Mucubají, Quarter note, Green, 
Urao and Sacred Christ. In the state it is generated near 10% of the waters that take place to the one 
north of the Orinoco, which are slippery through the rivers Chama, Sacred Domingo, Motatán, 
Torondoy, Capable, Tucaní, Uribante, Caparo, Canals, Bumbún and Socopó, courses that drenan 
toward the southeast coast of the lake of Maracaibo and the high western plains. 

Vegetation 
 goes from forests rainy macrotérmicas to vegetation moorland (gramineous and frailejón). 
They are almost given the entirety of the Areas of Life that, according to Holdridge, they happen in Venezuela. Those 
forest resources that are still located in this landscape are formed by species like: 
cedar, cumin, jabillo, mijao, saisai, ceiba and yokel. 

Fauna 
They highlight mammals like the bear frontino or of glasses (only representative of the bears in 
South America), the coatí or Andean guache and the Andean rabipelado or lighthouse. Ave like the condor, the one hummingbird chops sword, the crest eagle and the torrent duck. Amphibians as the frog 
transparent and the Andean salamander. Among the reptiles it can make an appointment the false choral. 

Mineral resources 
It has the main discovered phosphate locations up to now in Venezuela, 
besides significant concentrations of lead, zinc, copper and silver in complex, as well as 
mica, berilio, litio and another series of non metallic minerals, among those that highlight the clays and those 
calcareous. 

Population 
The population is of 570 215 hab according to the XII General Census of Population and Housing 1990, of 
which 47,7% resides in the metropolitan area of Merida. This populational development him 
it places in the decimotercer place with regard to the national total, being their density of 54,5 
Hab/km2. the populational dynamics indicates that the municipalities with more concentration of 
population is: Liberator (31,32%), Alberto Adriani (13,15%) and Campo Elías (10,29%); there you 
 concentrates 54,76% of the population estadal, being located in them the two more cities 
important: Merida whose character of student city has exercised influence in its rhythm of 
growth and The Vigía that it acts as second significance center in populational matter 
and functional. 

NATIONAL PARKS 
It has four national parks: Sierra Nevada, among the states Merida and Barinas, are 
the only place of the country where snowed summits are existed the whole year. Sierra of The Breech, to the one 
north of Merida. Moors Battalion-the Quarter note, in the limits of Merida and Táchira. I cover - 
Caparo that occupies part of the states Merida, Táchira and Barinas. 

Economic ACTIVITY 
They highlight in order of importance: the agriculture, the activities of services associated to the 
University of you Walk Them and to the regional and national government, the tourism, the cattle raising and the 
agroindustry. It is the first producing of celery, potato, cauliflower, lettuce, carrot, garlic, beet 
and cabbage of the country. Also squatter the second place in the pea production and cambur. In 
smaller scale is cultivated: caraota, cocoa, yucca, banana, coffee and tomato. In the cattle sector, 
it highlights in cattle raising of bovine (meats), swinish and birds. They are five industries 
forest of aserrío. The fishing activity has acquired great importance through the cultivation 
of the trout in rivers, lagoons and gulches. The marine fishing potential is restricted to the 
denominated continental fishing, represented by 10 km of coast in the sector suroriental of the one 
lake of Maracaibo. The present industries in the entity are fundamentally: products 
nutritious, dresses and domestic utensils. The tourist sector had great relevance, when being 
endowed with certain infrastructure. 

TRADITIONS 
Among so many traditions merideñas, the Boy's Paradura highlights that is carried out among the 1º of 
January and February 2. The party is associated to the Christmas and to the manger. In their version more 
well-known, the ceremony begins when to the house where  is the manger, you 
they present musicians and rezanderos and an or two couples of godfathers are chosen. The musicians 
they interpret popular pieces and to a sign of the owner of the house beginning is given to the ritual. They are sung 
verses dedicated to the Sacred Boy, candles are distributed and a procession begins in the one that is taken out to 
to walk the Boy, well-known as having Calmed of the Boy. Then  is carried out the Boy's Kiss, to the one that him 
the Boy's Stop, or Paradura continues that it happens when the image is lifted by those 
godfathers amid songs that celebrate the one that has been put in foot. You concludes with one 
eat. Some variants exist, as the Robbery and Search of the Lost Boy, in the one that one 
person steals the image, you/he/she takes it to another manger, you/he/she notifies the place where she is, and those house owners go in procession, accompanied by musicians and singers, to look for it. The 
simulation of the discovery generates a din that finishes with the return the figure to its place 
original.