Venezuela

Venezuela sits on the Caribbean shoulder of South America atop some of the largest proven oil reserves on the planet, a country whose extraordinary natural wealth has been shadowed by economic collapse and one of the largest migration crises in the world. Its landscapes are equally dramatic: snowcapped Andean peaks in the west, the vast grassy plains of the Llanos through the center, the sweeping Orinoco River, and the table mountains of the Guiana Highlands, where Angel Falls drops nearly a kilometer as the highest uninterrupted waterfall on Earth.

A spur of the Andes rises in the northwest to Pico Bolivar at 4,978 meters, the country's highest point. Across the center spread the Llanos, seasonally flooded plains that support cattle and abundant wildlife. To the south and east lie the ancient sandstone tepuis of the Gran Sabana, flat-topped mountains including Roraima and Auyantepui, over whose edge Angel Falls plunges. The Orinoco, one of the great rivers of the continent, drains much of the country and forms a vast delta on the Atlantic coast. The climate is tropical, tempered by altitude in the mountains.

Part of Bolivar's independence struggle, Venezuela broke from Spain in the early nineteenth century and later from Gran Colombia. The discovery of oil in the early twentieth century made it wealthy, but reliance on petroleum left the economy fragile. Under Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro, political polarization and economic mismanagement led to hyperinflation and shortages that drove millions to emigrate. Venezuela remains a country of immense resources and culture wrestling with the consequences of its dependence on a single commodity.

• South America
  A continent of the Andes, the Amazon, and dazzling extremes located in
• Brazil
  South America's giant, from the Amazon to the Atlantic neighboring country
• Colombia
  Where the Andes meet two oceans neighboring country
• Guyana
  The English-speaking corner of South America neighboring country