.gif)
Aragua (state)
Encyclopedia
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. It has plains and jungles and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
beaches. The most popular are Cata and Choroni. It has Venezuela's first national park which is called Henri Pittier
Henri Pittier National Park
Henri Pittier National Park was created in 1937 and is the oldest of Venezuela's national parks. It is famous for its birdlife. Its eco-systems vary with altitude....
.
The capital is Maracay
Maracay
Maracay is a city in north-central Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast, and is the capital and most important city of the state of Aragua. Most of it falls under the jurisdiction of the Girardot Municipality. The population as per the 2001 census was 750,000...
, other important cities include Turmero
Turmero
Turmero is a city in the state of Aragua in northern Venezuela. It is the capital of Santiago Mariño Municipality....
and El Limon
El Limón
Limón is a municipality in the department of Colón in Honduras. According to official census of 2001, has a population of 8,627 inhabitants. Its territory of is divided into an aldea and 23 caseríos...
.
Aragua State covers a total surface area of 7,014 km² and, based on the 2001 census information, the estimated population of Aragua State in 2007 is 1,665,200 inhabitants.
Aragua was also the name of a Venezuelan destroyer
Nueva Esparta class destroyer
The Nueva Esparta-class destroyers were a class of warships used by the navy of Venezuela. The lead ship was named after Nueva Esparta , the name of the largest island in Venezuela....
; it was the leader of the 3rd Destroyer Division and the first one of her own sub-class, among British built for Venezuela naval forces in the 1950s.
Geography
Aragua borders the Caribbean SeaCaribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
to the north, with its coastline backed by the fast-rising central Cordillera mountain range
Venezuelan Coastal Range
The Venezuelan Coastal Range is a mountain range that runs along the central and eastern portions of Venezuela's northern coast...
. Codazzi Peak reaches over 2400 m above sea level. Much of the rest of the state is made up of fertile valleys used for intensive agriculture, apart from in the extreme south where the flats of the central Llanos
Llanos
The Llanos is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the Flooded grasslands and savannas Biome....
region begin. On the western border is Lake Valencia
Lake Valencia
Lake Valencia is the third largest lake in Venezuela, exceeded in size only by Lake Maracaibo and Lake Guri. It occupies one of the so-called Aragua valleys, enclosed between the parallel mountain ranges of the Cordillera de la Costa, the Maritime Andes. One part is within the limits of Carabobo...
.
The main rivers in the state are the Aragua
Aragua River
Aragua River flows in Aragua State, Venezuela....
, the Guárico
Guárico River
Guárico River is a river in Venezuela....
, the Limón, the Tuy, the Pao and the Turmero. They flow into the Caribbean Sea, Lake Valencia, or feed the vast Orinoco River network. The Camatagua reservoir is one of the main reservoirs supplying Caracas.
Municipalities and municipal seats
Aragua comprises eighteen municipalities (municipios):- BolívarBolívar Municipality, AraguaThe Bolívar Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 42,295. The town of San Mateo is the shire town of the...
(San MateoSan Mateo, AraguaSan Mateo is a city in state of Aragua in Venezuela. It is the administrative seat of Bolívar Municipality. It was founded on 30 November 1620....
) - CamataguaCamatagua MunicipalityThe Camatagua Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 17,674...
(Camatagua) - Francisco Linares AlcántaraFrancisco Linares Alcántara MunicipalityThe Francisco Linares Alcántara Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 135,873...
(Santa Rita) - Girardot (MaracayMaracayMaracay is a city in north-central Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast, and is the capital and most important city of the state of Aragua. Most of it falls under the jurisdiction of the Girardot Municipality. The population as per the 2001 census was 750,000...
) - José Angel Lamas (Santa Cruz)
- José Félix Ribas (La Victoria)
- José Rafael Revenga (El Consejo)
- LibertadorLibertador Municipality, AraguaThe Libertador Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 87,520. The town of Palo Negro is the shire town of the...
(Palo Negro) - Mario Briceño IragorryMario Briceño Iragorry MunicipalityThe Mario Briceño Iragorry Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 103,269. The town of El Limón is the...
(El LimonEl LimónLimón is a municipality in the department of Colón in Honduras. According to official census of 2001, has a population of 8,627 inhabitants. Its territory of is divided into an aldea and 23 caseríos...
) - Ocumare de la Costa de Oro (Ocumare de la CostaOcumare de la CostaOcumare de la Costa is a small costal town and the capital of the Ocumare de la Costa de Oro Municipality, located 25 miles north of Aragua, Venezuela. Called simply Ocumare, the colonial town sits at the skirts of the Venezuelan Coastal Range, adding the peculiar naturale elements of the Henri...
) - San CasimiroSan Casimiro MunicipalityThe San Casimiro Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 26,030...
(San Casimiro) - San SebastiánSan Sebastián MunicipalityThe San Sebastián Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 22,906...
(San Sebastián) - Santiago Mariño (TurmeroTurmeroTurmero is a city in the state of Aragua in northern Venezuela. It is the capital of Santiago Mariño Municipality....
) - Santos Michelena (Las Tejerías)
- SucreSucre Municipality, AraguaThe Sucre Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 120,302. The town of Cagua is the shire town of the Sucre...
(CaguaCaguaCagua is a city of Venezuela, capital of the Sucre municipality. Cagua is part of the metropolitan area of Maracay.-History:Cagua was established in 1620 as "Cagua La Vieja", a town of original Spaniards. Cagua was rebuilt in its current location in 1622 with the new name of "Nuestra Señora del...
) - TovarTovar Municipality, AraguaThe Tovar Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 17,429...
(Colonia TovarColonia TovarColonia Tovar is a city located in the Tovar Municipality of the state of Aragua in Venezuela, 60 km west of Caracas. The town was named after Martín Tovar y Ponte who donated the land over 150 years ago, and was founded by Agostino Codazzi...
) - UrdanetaUrdaneta Municipality, AraguaThe Urdaneta Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 21,270. The town of Barbacoas is the shire town of the...
(BarbacoasBarbacoasBarbacoas is a town and municipality in the Nariño Department, Colombia....
) - ZamoraZamora Municipality, AraguaThe Zamora Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 145,742. The town of Villa de Cura is the shire town of the...
(Villa de CuraVilla de CuraVilla de Cura or Villa de San Luis Rey de Cura is the main town in the Zamora district of the Aragua state in Venezuela.A small town, very dry between October and April and rainy during the rest of the year, it is best known in Venezuela for being the cradle of one of the best all-male children...
)