128  SELLING  LATIN  AMERICA

the  Coastal  Range  and  the  Parima  Range,  between ­
  which  are  many  high  plateaus.  The
mountain  ranges  reach  an  altitude  of  nearly
10,000  feet,  while  the  highest  plateau  is  about
6000  feet.
Owing  to  the  mountain  systems,  Venezuela
is  divided  into  three  climatic  zones:  the
tropical  extending  along  the  coast  and  up  into
the  valley  through  the  center  of  which  flows
the  Orinoco  River,  the  semi-tropical  zone  to
be  found  in  the  llanos  or  broad  plains  or
plateau  between  the  mountain  ranges,  and  the
temperate  zone  along  the  sides  of  the  mountains ­
  on  which  is  grown  the  famous  coffee  for
which  the  country  is  noted.
The  United  States  of  Venezuela  is  a  federal
union  with  a  republican  form  of  government,
the  States,  of  which  there  are  20,  being  entirely ­
  autonomous  in  their  internal  affairs.
The  executive  power  is  vested  in  a  President
and  two  Vice-Presidents,  and  the  legislative
in  two  houses—a  Senate  and  a  Chamber  of
Deputies.
While  the  official  estimate  of  the  population