Venezuela can be divided into four distinct geographic regions. In the west, the Venezuelan Highlands include the Andean mountain range to the coast. Though representing only 12% of Venezuela's land area, this region contains 66% of Venezuela's population and most of its major cities. Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela and one of the wealthiest and most modern capitals in South America, lies in this region.

The next major geographical region of Venezuela, the Maracaibo lowlands, lies in the northwest of the country. The area contains Lake Maracaibo, the largest lake in South America. This shallow freshwater lake is 75 miles long and 100 miles wide. The city of Maracaibo, with a population of more than one million, is the second largest city in Venezuela. It is reached via the five-mile long General Raphael Urdaneta Bridge, the longest prestressed concrete bridge in the world.

The third region in Venezuela is the plains, or llanos, located in the central part of the country. The llanos cover nearly one-third of Venezuela, yet account for only 9% of the population. This low population density is due to the extremely harsh landscape and climate. The land is flat and almost treeless, and the climate ranges from very hot and dry to very damp and muggy, depending on the season. Five million heads of cattle live in the llanos. Cattle is herded by Venezuelan cowboys, or llaneros, to wetter areas during the dry season and to drier areas during the wet season.

In the south and east of Venezuela, covering nearly half the nation's land, lie the Guayana Highlands, the fourth geographic region. The Guayana Highlands are covered with ancient, vast sandstone rock formations called tepuys, or mesas, which can reach as high as 6,000 feet. It is here that one can find the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls. At 3,212 feet, the falls are more than 15 times taller than Niagara Falls, or twice the height of New York's Empire State Building. The largest city in the Guiana Highlands, Guayana (500,000 inhabitants), is the fifth largest city in Venezuela and a hub of heavy industry.