Zulia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Zulia (disambiguation)
| Estado Zulia | |||||
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| Zulia State Anthem | |||||
| Motto: none | |||||
 Location within Venezuela |
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| Created (given current status) |
1864 | ||||
| State capital | Maracaibo | ||||
| Area •% |
63,100 km² 6,92 (Ranked 5th) |
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| Population •% |
3,553,354 hab. (2006 est.) 13,87 (Ranked 1st) |
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| Emblematic tree | The Cocotero (Cocos nucifera) |
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| ISO 3166-2 | VE-V |
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| Governor | Manuel Rosales 2004 - 2008 |
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| Website: Gobernación del Zulia | |||||
Estado Zulia is one of Venezuela's 23 states (estados). The state capital is Maracaibo. The state covers a total surface area of 63,100 km² and, in 2006, had an estimated population of 3,553,354. It is located in the northwestern part of the country.
[edit] Geography
Lake Maracaibo, the largest lake in South America, lies within Zulia. The Lake Maracaibo Basin covers one of the largest oil and gas reserves in this hemisphere, bringing enormous wealth to the country. A long and mostly uninhabited border separates Venezuela from Colombia to the north and west from the Guajira Peninsula to the mountains of Perijá. Venezuela's Andean states of Tachira, Mérida and Trujillo border Zulia State at the Southern end of Lake Maracaibo and finally the states of Lara and Falcón complete the boundaries of Zulia.
The name Venezuela also comes from the Lake Maracaibo area. Spanish Conquistadors sailing into this area found the indigenous peoples living in communities of huts supported by stilts along the shores of the Lake over 500 years ago and promptly named this new territory "Little Venice" or Venezuela.
[edit] Municipalities and municipal seats
Zulia is comprised by 21 municipalities (municipios):
| Municipality | Seat | |
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| 1. | Almirante Padilla | El Toro |
| 2. | Baralt | San Timoteo |
| 3. | Cabimas | Cabimas |
| 4. | Catatumbo | Encontrados |
| 5. | Colón | San Carlos del Zulia |
| 6. | Francisco Javier Pulgar | Pueblo Nuevo / El Chivo |
| 7. | Jesús Enrique Lossada | La Concepción |
| 8. | Jesús María Semprún | Casigua el Cubo |
| 9. | La Cañada de Urdaneta | Concepción |
| 10. | Lagunillas | Ciudad Ojeda |
| 11. | Machiques de Perijá | Machiques |
| 12. | Mara | San Rafael del Moján |
| 13. | Maracaibo | Maracaibo |
| 14. | Miranda | Los Puertos de Altagracia |
| 15. | Páez | Sinamaica |
| 16. | Rosario de Perijá | La Villa del Rosario |
| 17. | San Francisco | San Francisco |
| 18. | Santa Rita | Santa Rita |
| 19. | Simón Bolívar | Tía Juana |
| 20. | Sucre | Bobures |
| 21. | Valmore Rodríguez | Bachaquero |
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