The Coro region is the hilly and semi-mountainous area in northwest Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, north of the Mérida Andes

Cordillera de Mérida

The Cordillera de Mérida is a series of mountain ranges, or massif, in northwestern Venezuela. The Cordillera de Mérida is a northeastern extension of the Andes Mountains. The ranges run southwest–northeast between the Venezuelan–Colombian border and the Venezuelan coastal range...

 and east of the Maracaibo Basin

Maracaibo Basin

The Maracaibo Basin in Western Venezuela is a prolific, oil-producing sedimentary basin. The basin is bounded on the north by the Oca Fault which separates it from the Caribbean Sea. The remaining sides of the basin are bounded by a branching in the northern Andes Mountains termed the Sierra de...

, extending north to the Caribbean

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

 coast. It consists mostly of east-west running ridges, with the exception of the Sierra de Siruma which run north-south. The coastal plain of the region contains Venezuela’s only desert, the Médanos

Médanos

In South America, the word médanos refers to continental dunes whereas dunas refers to dunes of coastal origin. Médanos may be vegetated or unvegetated. For example, the médanos of La Pampa in Argentina are mostly vegetated dunes with occasional blowouts. On the other hand, the dunes of Médanos...

 de Coro (the Coro Dunes), on the Paraguaná peninsula.

The Coro region is one of the ten geographical regions into which Venezuela

Geography of Venezuela

Venezuela is a country in South America, and part of Caribbean South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana. It is situated on major sea and air routes linking North and South America...

 can be divided. Because the two major depression valleys are the Falcón and the Lara, the mountains are sometimes called the Falcón-Lara ranges. The geographic region covers all of Falcón State, half of Lara State and Yaracuy State, and small percentages of Zulia State and Carabobo State.

Hydrology

Coro region is very dry, with the evaporation rate frequently exceeding the precipitation rate at the lower elevations. There are three major river systems in the region. The Pedregal and Paraíso rivers which feed into the Mitare River which empties into the Coro Gulf. The Morere, Barigua and Bucares rivers which together form the Tocuyo River, arguably the most important river in the area draining 223.44 square kilometres, and emptying into the Caribbean near the Triste Gulf. The Tocuyo river crosses the ecoregion called the Lara Falcón Dry Forest. In the valleys of the Lara-Falcón depression, the Turbio river is the most important due to its volume of water; its mouth is near the Orinoco

Orinoco

The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...

 River basin.

Geology

With the exception of the Siquisique highlands (which are an igneous remnant of Jurassic age), the rocks are Cenozoic, mostly 30 to 70 m.y.o., (Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene), overlaid by some Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial deposits. This corresponds well with the Andean orogeny.

Economy

There are some oil deposits, but mainly the population relies on subsistence farming with some cattle grazing. The dry climate is not conducive to commercial agriculture, but there are some aloe vera

Aloe vera

Aloe vera, pronounced , also known as the true aloe or medicinal aloe, is a species of succulent plant in the genus Aloe that is believed to have originated in the Sudan. Aloe vera grows in arid climates and is widely distributed in Africa, India, Nepal and other arid areas.The species is...

 plantations. There is some mining in the higher mountains and fishing on the coast.

Towns

• Barquisimeto
  Barquisimeto
  Barquisimeto is the capital city of the State of Lara located in west central Venezuela, halfway between Caracas and Maracaibo on the Turbio River.-Overview:...
  
  
• Cabudare
  Cabudare
  Cabudare , is a city in Lara State, in Venezuela, and capital of the Palavecino municipality.Located at an elevation of 400 m...
  
  
• Carora
  Carora
  Carora is a town in Lara State, Venezuela, on the Morere River, a branch of the Tocuyo River. It is about 54 miles southwest of Barquisimeto. Carora was founded twice. The first time, in the year 1569 by Juan de Tejo, but due to constant attacks from the indigenous population, it was abandoned,...
  
  
• Coro
• Dabajuro
  Dabajuro
  Dabajuro is a city and municipality in southwestern Falcón State, Venezuela with a population of 25, 469 .-History:While a small agricultural village existed on the site, it was really in 1914 with the arrival of the oil companies in the Buchivacoa District that Dabajuro became a town...
  
  
• Punto Fijo
  Punto Fijo
  Punto Fijo is the capital city of Carirubana Autonomy County of Falcón State, Venezuela. This city are formed for the Urban Parishes of Carirubana and Norte . Is the largest city in the Paraguaná Peninsula. Punto Fijo is located on the north-western shores of the Venezuelan state of Falcón. With a...
  
  
• Riecito
• El Tocuyo
  El Tocuyo
  El Tocuyo is a fertile valley and city in west-central Venezuela at elevation. It is located in south-central Lara State about 60 km southwest of Barquisimeto. The town of El Tocuyo was founded by Juan de Carvajal in 1545 on the banks of the Tocuyo River and it was the administrative capital of...