Falcón

Falcón
State of Venezuela

Flag
Motto(s): Dios y Federación
(English: God and Federation)

Location within Venezuela
Country Venezuela
Created 1864[c]
Capital Coro
Government
 • Governor Stella Lugo (2012–2016)
Area
 • Total 24,800 km2 (9,600 sq mi)
Area rank 10th
  2.71% of Venezuela
Population (2011 census)
 • Total 902,847
 • Rank 11th
  3.45% of Venezuela
Time zone UTC-04:00
ISO 3166 code VE-I
Emblematic tree Cují yaque (Prosopis juliflora)
Website www.falcon.gob.ve
^[c] As Coro State; in 1874, it was renamed as Falcón State.
Cayo Sombrero, Morrocoy National Park, Falcón state.
Médanos de Coro, Falcón state.

Falcón State (Spanish: Estado Falcón, IPA: [esˈtaðo falˈkon]) is one of the 23 states (estados) that constitute Venezuela. The state capital is Coro.

Demographics and geography

Falcón State covers a total surface area of 24,800 km² and, in 2011 had a census population of 902,847. The Paraguaná Peninsula is connected to the rest of the state by the Médanos Isthmus. It borders with the ABC islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire on the north, Zulia State on the west, and both Lara State and Yaracuy State on the south. The island of Aruba is 27 km off the northern coast of Paraguaná Peninsula. The other two ABC Islands (Bonaire and Curaçao) are a little further off the coast of the state.

National parks

There are four national parks in the state: the Médanos de Coro National Park, the Cueva de la Quebrada del Toro, Morrocoy, and Juan Crisóstomo Falcón National Park.

History

The area was first explored in 1499 by Juan de la Cosa and Amerigo Vespucci, as part of an expedition overseen by Alonso de Ojeda.[1] The State is named after President Juan Crisóstomo Falcón.

Infrastructure

The region is mostly coastal lowlands and the northern Andean mountain hills, and is mostly dry with limited agriculture production.[1] Farming mostly occurs in river valleys and mountainous areas, and includes maize, coconut, sesame, coffee and sugar cane.[1]

Coro, the state capitol and the Paraguaná Peninsula have had significant amounts of industrialization and growth.[1] Large oil refineries such as the Paraguana Refinery Complex in the city of Punto Fijo are located on the southwestern shore of the Paraguaná Peninsula, and approximately two-thirds of Venezuela’s total oil production occurs in this area, much of which is exported via tanker ships[1] that ship internationally through the port of Amuay.

Municipalities and municipal seats

Falcon State is subdivided into 25 municipalities (municipios), listed below with their administrative capitals, areas and populations.[2]

MunicipalityAdministrative
Capital		Area (km2)Population
Census 2011		Estimate
30 June 2016
AcostaSan Juan de los Cayos75719,04521,272
BolívarSan Luis2958,5399,420
BuchivacoaCapatárida2,65722,89725,470
Cacique ManaureYaracal19010,87412,149
CarirubanaPunto Fijo684239,444276,251
ColinaLa Vela de Coro58241,51046,631
DabajuroDabajuro1,14423,38826,364
DemocraciaPedregal2,6029,94411,293
FalcónPueblo Nuevo1,57746,21555,196
FederaciónChuruguara1,08429,25133,138
JacuraJacura1,84211,23212,492
Los TaquesSanta Cruz de Los Taques23141,57945,681
MauroaMene de Mauroa1,90424,92027,488
MirandaSanta Ana de Coro1,805211,537239,961
Monseñor IturrizaChichiriviche90719,30021,927
PalmasolaPalmasola1947,0778,306
PetitCabure1,02513,72515,316
PírituPíritu1,16810,62811,685
San FranciscoMirimire34611,03012,219
SilvaTucacas53732,19341,826
SucreLa Cruz de Taratara8405,7816,379
TocóperoTocópero835,5196,010
UniónSanta Cruz de Bucaral97515,66017,441
UrumacoUrumaco7528,3499,044
ZamoraPuerto Cumarebo61933,21037,868
Estado FalcónCoro24,800902,8471,030,827

The Paraguaná Peninsula comprises the municipalities of Carirubana, Los Taques and Falcón.

Population

Race and ethnicity

According to the 2011 Census, the estimated racial composition of the population was:[3]

Racial compositionEst. Pop.%
Mestizo513,00055.7
White358,00038.9
Black44,0004.8
Other race6,0000.6

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Falcón". Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed May 2010.
  2. ↑ Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, Caracas.
  3. ↑ "Resultado Básico del XIV Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2011 (Mayo 2014)" (PDF). Ine.gov.ve. p. 29. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  •  "Falcón". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.

Coordinates: 10°03′N 60°48′W / 10.05°N 60.8°W / 10.05; -60.8

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