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Caracas

Capital of VenezuelaCaracas fills a valley in the coastal mountains of northern Venezuela, along the Guaire River. A steep range, Cerro El Ávila, about 2,200 m high, separates the city from the Caribbean Sea, which is only about 15 km away.

Why it's the capital

Captain Diego de Losada founded the city on 25 July 1567, and in 1577 it became capital of the Spanish province of Venezuela. With the coastal mountains acting as a barrier, the valley was safer from pirate attacks than many towns on the Caribbean shore.

Fun facts

  1. Its full official name is Santiago de León de Caracas, the name it was given when it was founded in 1567.
  2. Simón Bolívar, who led Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Bolivia to independence from Spain, was born in Caracas in 1783.
  3. The campus of the Central University of Venezuela, called University City, was designed by architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Finding it on the globe

Look near the middle of Venezuela's Caribbean coast. Caracas is just inland, hidden behind the first ridge of mountains.

Sources: Wikipedia: Caracas, Wikipedia: Simón Bolívar