The Julio César Salas Municipality is one of the 23

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

(

municipio ' (, ) and ' () are country subdivisions in Italy and several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. They are often translated as "municipality". In the English language, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or ...

s) that makes up the

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n state of Mérida and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 15,300. The town of Arapuey is the

shire town A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of the Julio César Salas Municipality.http://www.ine.gob.ve/secciones/division/Merida.zip

History

Its origins date back to 1915 when the area was designated as Arapuey Village. With the construction of the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

, it gained importance and became Julio César Salas Foreign Municipality, linked to the former Miranda District (today Miranda Municipality). Then, in 1988, it became Julio César Salas Autonomous Municipality. On January 15, 1992, the administration of Palmira

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Miranda Municipality was transferred to Julio César Salas Municipality. Historically, the northern territory has remained in dispute with

Zulia State Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It ...

which sees it as an integral part.

Geography

It is the northernmost municipality of Mérida. It is divided into two regions, a plateau formed by its proximity to Lake Maracaibo and another mountainous area located in the Venezuelan

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. Elevations range from 80m in the north to 2,000m in the south, in the Andean foothills. The north is in a tropical moist forest biome, and the rest of the municipality is a submontane moist forest. Temperatures vary between 25 °C and 32.5 °C and average annual precipitation is 1,000mm. The main waterways are the Alguacil, Arapuey and Quince rivers.

Demographics

The Julio César Salas Municipality, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, has a population of 15,300 (up from 12,569 in 2000). This amounts to 1.8% of the state's population. The municipality's population density is .

Government

The mayor of the Julio César Salas Municipality is Silvio Luis Torres Vasquez, elected on October 31, 2004, with 50% of the vote. He replaced Antonio Vielma shortly after the elections. The municipality is divided into two

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es; Julio César Salas and Palmira.

References

External links