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  being ­
  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  numerous, ­
  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