The Venezuelan Coastal Range ( es, Cordillera de la Costa or ), also known as Venezuelan Caribbean Mountain System ( es, Sistema Montañoso Caribe) is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

system and one of the eight

natural regions of Venezuela Because of its natural structure, Venezuela can be divided into eight very distinct natural regions. In the evaluation of a natural region, the human element is not present. The natural region groups of Venezuela formed as a consequence of the a ...

, that runs along the central and eastern portions of

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 northern coast. The range is a northeastern extension of the

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 ...

, and is also known as the Maritime Andes. It covers around 48,866 km², being the 4th largest natural region in Venezuela.

Geography

The Coastal Range actually consists of two parallel ranges, which run east and west along the coast of 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 ...

. The

Cojedes River The Cojedes River (Spanish ''Rio Cojedes'') is a tributary of the Orinoco River in central Venezuela. The Cojedes originates in Lara state, and flows southeast through a gap between the Cordillera de Mérida and the Cordillera de la Costa and a ...

separates the western end of Coastal Range from the

Cordillera de Mérida The Cordillera de Mérida is a series of mountain ranges, or massif, in northwestern Venezuela. The Cordillera de Mérida is a northeastern extension of the Andes Mountains and the most important branch of the Venezuelan Andes. The ranges run sou ...

to the southeast. The range is divided into eastern and western sections by the wide bay between Cape Codera and

Cumaná Cumaná () is the capital city of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located east of Caracas. Cumaná was one of the first cities founded by Spain in the mainland Americas and is the oldest continuously-inhabited Hispanic-established city in South ...

Serranía del Litoral—Serranía del Interior

In eastern section of the range, the parallel ranges are known as the Serranía del Litoral, which runs along the Caribbean coast, and the Serranía del Interior to the south. The valley between these two ranges, which includes Lake Valencia, the valleys of metropolitan

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, and the

Tuy River The Tuy River is a river of northern Venezuela, in the Valles del Tuy (Tuy Valleys) of Miranda, Venezuela, Miranda State. The principal river of Miranda, it flows north from Aragua State through Miranda into the Caribbean Sea. Tributaries include t ...

at its eastern end, is the most densely populated region of Venezuela. The

Capital District A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any poli ...

lies in a valley between two branches of the Serranía del Litoral: with Cerro El Ávila (peak) and

El Ávila National Park The Ávila National Park, officially known as Waraira Repano National Park for its name indigenous Cariban name, protects part of the Cordillera de la Costa Central mountain range, in the coastal region of central-northern Venezuela. The area's ...

in the

Cordillera de la Costa Central The Cordillera de la Costa Central is a range of the Venezuelan Coastal Ranges System (''Cordillera de la Costa''), in northern Venezuela. Geography The mountain range runs east— west along the northern Caribbean Sea coast. It is also known a ...

to the north, and smaller hills to the south. Both the Littoral and Interior ranges reappear between Cumaná and the

Gulf of Paria The Gulf of Paria ( ; es, Golfo de Paria) is a shallow (180 m at its deepest) semi-enclosed inland sea located between the island of Trinidad (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) and the east coast of Venezuela. It separates the two countries ...

to form the eastern section of the Venezuelan Coastal Range. The Littoral range forms the Araya Peninsula to the west and the

Paria Peninsula The Paria Peninsula () is a large peninsula on the Caribbean Sea, in the state of Sucre in northern Venezuela. Geography Separating the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Paria, the peninsula is part of the mountain range, in the Venezuelan Co ...

to the east, and extends across the straits known as the Dragon's Mouths to form the

Northern Range The Northern Range is the range of tall hills across north Trinidad, the major island in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The hills range from the Chaguaramas peninsula on the west coast to Toco in the east. The Northern Range covers approx ...

of the island of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Ecoregions

The lower elevations of the mountains are mostly covered by the

La Costa xeric shrublands The La Costa xeric shrublands (NT1309) is an ecoregion in Venezuela that stretches along the Caribbean coast. The dry scrub and savanna has been subject to modification since the 16th century by European colonists who replaced it by a patchwork of ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

of the

Deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this ...

Biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

. The

Araya and Paria xeric scrub The Araya and Paria xeric scrub (NT1301) is an ecoregion in Venezuela that stretches along the Caribbean coast to the west of Trinidad, and that includes Margarita Island and some smaller islands. The ecoregion includes dune herbs, dry thorn scrub ...

occupies the arid zones of Araya and Paria peninsulas, with the exception of the montane areas of the Paria Peninsula, which are included in the La Costa xeric shrublands ecoregion. The Araya and Paria xeric scrub also includes

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

and extends south on to the mainland to Cumaná. At elevations from lie the humid evergreen

Cordillera de la Costa montane forests The Cordillera de la Costa montane forests is a montane ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, in the Venezuelan Coastal Range (''Cordillera de la Costa'') on the Caribbean Sea in northern Venezuela. Location The ...

ecoregion of the montane

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

Biome, which form eleven discontinuous enclaves across the high summits of the eastern and western portions of the range.

External links

* * * * {{Natural Regions of Venezuela Mountain ranges of the Andes Mountain ranges of Venezuela Cordillera de La Costa Cordillera de la Costa Geography of Caracas Geography of Capital District (Venezuela) Geography of Miranda (state) Geography of Vargas (state) Geography of Aragua Geography of Carabobo Geography of Anzoátegui Geography of Sucre (state) Geography of Monagas Geography of Guárico Geography of Cojedes (state) El Ávila National Park