Bodies of Water of Venezuela

Sometimes referred to as Amazônia, the Amazon Rainforest is a natural region and biome in northern South America that occupies the Amazon Basin, a drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries. Nine countries have some parts of the Amazon region within their borders.

The Gulf of Venezuela is an inlet of the Caribbean Sea bounded by Venezuela and Colombia. It is a shipping route for the petroleum-producing Maracaibo region. The Guajira Peninsula is located in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.

Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish tidal estuary and an inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Variably considered a bay or lagoon, it lies in the Maracaibo Basin of northwestern Venezuela. It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by the Tablazo Strait.

Beginning high in the Sierra Parima Mountains of Venezuela and Brazil, the Orinoco River flows in a giant arc before discharging in the Atlantic Ocean in Venezuela. Its tributaries are the major transportation system for eastern and interior Venezuela and the llanos of Colombia.

The Río Negro, the largest blackwater river in the world, is a major tributary of the Amazon. The source of the Río Negro lies in eastern Colombia's rainforests. At Manaus, the Río Negro joins the Solimões River to form the Amazon River. It is at this point that the "meeting of the waters" phenomenon takes place.