San Francisco is a

municipality 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 ...

in the metropolitan area of

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

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 ...

's second largest city. San Francisco covers an area of and recorded a population of 446,757 in the 2011 Venezuelan census.

Geography

San Francisco is situated on the Maracaibo Plain on the west shore of Tablazo Strait, which connects

Lake Maracaibo Lake Maracaibo (Spanish: Lago de Maracaibo; Anu: Coquivacoa) is a lagoon in northwestern Venezuela, the largest lake in South America and one of the oldest on Earth, formed 36 million years ago in the Andes Mountains. The fault in the northern se ...

with the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. It borders the municipalities of

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

to the north, Jesús Enrique Lossada to the west, and La Cañada de Urdaneta to the south. San Francisco has a semi-arid climate, with an average annual temperature of 27.8 °C and annual rainfall of 700 mm.

History

In his 1830 atlas of Venezuela,

Agustín Codazzi Giovanni Battista Agostino Codazzi (alternatively known in Latin America as Agustín Codazzi; 12 July 1793 – 7 February 1859) was an Italo-Venezuelan soldier, scientist, geographer, cartographer, and governor of Barinas (1846–1847 ...

recorded a ''Punta de San Francisco'' located between the towns of Maracaibo and La Cañada. San Francisco was first officially recorded as the name of a ''parroquia'' in 1881. The current municipality was created on 22 January 1995 from the ''parroquias'' of San Francisco, Francisco Ochoa, Marcial Hernandez, and Domitila Flores, all previously part of the municipality of Maracaibo.

Government

The following people have served as mayor (''alcalde'') of San Francisco: *Saady Bijani, 1995–2008 *

Omar Prieto Omar José Prieto Fernández (born 25 May 1969), is a Venezuelan economist and politician who was governor of Zulia from 2017 to 2021. He was mayor of San Francisco, Zulia, for two consecutive periods. Political career In 2008, he was elected ...

, 2008–2017 *Dirwings Arrieta, 2017–2021

Subdivisions

San Francisco is divided into seven ''

parroquia ''Parroquia'' (, , pl. ''parroquias''; , pl. ''parroquies'') or ''Parròquia'' (, pl. ''parròquies'') is a term equivalent to the English Parish; used in Andorra, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and some parts of northwestern Spain. It can be found i ...

s'', of which San Francisco serves as the capital of the municipality. The newest ''parroquia'' is José Domingo Rus, which was created in 2006.

Economy

San Francisco is highly urbanized and its economy is sustained by secondary and tertiary activities. Major industries include coal, oil, cement, and fish processing.

Infrastructure

General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge view from the lake to Cabimas side

San Francisco is the western terminus of the Troncal 3 highway, which crosses the Tablazo Strait over the

General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge is located at the Tablazo Strait outlet of Lake Maracaibo, in western Venezuela. The bridge connects Maracaibo with much of the rest of the country. It is named after General Rafael Urdaneta, a Venezuelan hero ...

and connects Maracaibo to Coro, the capital of

Falcón ) , anthem = , image_map = Falcon in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_mapsiz ...

, and the town of Morón in

Carabobo , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Carabobo'' , image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_ ...

. San Francisco also lies on the Troncal 6 highway, which runs north-south through Zulia from the border crossing to Colombia at

Paraguachón Paraguachón ( guc, Paalüwachon) is a corregimiento and community located east of Maicao, the municipality in which it is located. It is located in the La Guajira Department La Guajira () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of th ...

La Fría La Fría is a town in Táchira, Venezuela. It is the capital of García de Hevia Municipality. It was founded in 1853. Transport It is served by La Fría Airport. It is proposed to have a railway station on the new national railway network. ...

Táchira Táchira State ( es, Estado Táchira, ) is one of the 24 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,908. At the end of the 19t ...

. Intercity buses stop at the Simón Bolívar bus terminal at the interchange of Troncal 3 with Avenida 5. The bus terminal is also the terminus of a circular bus route which serves San Francisco and is operated by Maracaibo's Metromara bus system.

La Chinita International Airport La Chinita International Airport is an airport serving Maracaibo, the capital of Zulia. It is located southwest of Maracaibo proper in the municipality of San Francisco. La Chinita is Venezuela's second most important airport in terms of passeng ...

, which serves the Maracaibo area, is located in San Francisco. The municipality has two hospitals. Recreational areas in San Francisco include the

Zulia Metropolitan Zoo The Zulia Metropolitan Zoo ( es, Parque zoológico metropolitano del Zulia; also called the Zoological Park of Zulia or ''Parque del Sur'') is a zoo established in 1973. It spans about 40 hectares and is located at kilometer 10 of the La Cañada h ...

and a botanical garden.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, San Francisco Municipality (Zulia) Municipalities of Zulia 1995 establishments in Venezuela