July 5th: Venezuela Independence Day

Venezuela gained independence from Spain on this date in 1811. Here are 10 things you might not know about Venezuela:

1. The national Flag of Venezuela, a horizontal tricolour of the three primary colours (Yellow, red and blue) dates from its independence in 1811, although there have been minor changes including the addition of a set of white stars in the blue band. The flag was designed by Francisco de Miranda for his unsuccessful 1806 expedition to liberate Venezuela. His design was said to have been inspired by a late night conversation he had about colours with the German writer and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. According to Goethe, yellow is the most warm, noble and closest to [white] light; blue is that mix of excitement and serenity, a distance that evokes shadows; and red is the synthesis, the vanishing of light into shadow. Officially, yellow is wealth, blue is the sea and red is courage and the Blood spilled in the struggle for independence.
2. The capital and largest city is Caracas, officially Santiago de León de Caracas.
3. A popular theory as to how Venezuela got its name is that the navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, thought the stilt houses around Lake Maracaibo reminded him of Venice, and so he named the area Veneziola, literally, "Little Venice". A less romantic theory is that it was named after an indigenous people who called themselves the Veneciuela.
4. Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America and one of the oldest on earth (20-40 million years old).
5. Both the currency and the highest mountain are named after the liberator of the country, Simon Bolivar. Pico Bolívar is the highest point at 4,979 m (16,335 ft), and the currency is the bolivar fuerte.
6. As well as having the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall (Angel Falls, at 3,212 feet) Venezuela is also home to the world's tallest statue of the Virgin Mary, The Monument to the Virgen de la Paz en Trujillo. She is taller than the Statue of Liberty and Christ the Redeemer by a few inches, making her the highest habitable sculpture in the American continent.
7. Think the Middle East has the monopoly on oil reserves? Think again. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves (almost 300 billion barrels). In the early twentieth century, Venezuela was the largest oil exporter in the world and was one of the founding members of OPEC, along with Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Thanks to government subsidies, Venezuelans enjoy the cheapest petrol in the world (about $0.01 a litre). The country also has the world’s eighth largest proven natural gas reserves.
8. Venezuela has more beauty queens than anywhere else in the world. Venezuelan women have won Miss Universe 7 times, Miss World 6 times, Miss International 6 times, and Miss Earth twice at time of writing.
9. It's the place to go if you like watching Lightning storms. Venezuela has a unique meteorological phenomena called Catatumbo lightning, which only occurs at the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it meets Lake Maracabio. Lightning repeatedly strikes the lake for 10 hours at a time, for up to 160 days a year.
10. The country is home to the capybara, the largest rodent in the world.