VENEZUELA 
129 
is 2,743,000, it is doubtful if the country has 
1,500,000 inhabitants. There are about 400,- 
000 semi-nomadic Indians, the remainder be 
ing of mixed blood, part Indian, part negro, 
part white, or a mixture of all three. Pure 
white and pure negroes are comparatively few. 
There are perhaps 20,000 Europeans engaged 
in business and located in the larger cities, the 
countries represented in the order of their 
population being Germany, Italy, France, 
Spain, England and a very few Americans. 
In the northwest of the country is situated 
Lake Maracaibo, 370 miles in circumference, 
covering an area of 8000 square miles, and 
navigable over its entire surface. This lake is 
accessible to the Caribbean Sea by a strait 34 
miles long and varying from 8 to 12 miles in 
width. Its channel permits the entrance of 
ocean-going vessels of 5000 tons or less. 
The fluvial systems of Venezuela are numer 
ous, there being about 70 rivers navigable for 
shallow-draft boats for over 6000 miles, the 
third largest river in the world—the Orinoco 
—with its many tributaries contributing some