VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

450th Anniversary of Discovery of Lake Maracaibo.
Map of Lake Maracaibo and portrait of Alonso de Ojeda.
Air Mail. Sixth stamp in a set of 9, issued on 18.12.1950.
Face value: 15 cents of Venzuelan bolívar,
Printed by Courvoisier, Switzerland.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 500,000 copies.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 604.
- Scott No. C318.
- StampWorld No. 624.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 880.
- Yvert et Tellier No. PA 312.

Lake Maracaibo is a coastal freshwater lake, similar to a large bay, located in the westernmost part of Venezuela, and between the states of Zulia, Trujillo and Mérida. It has an area of 13,210 km² (5,100 sq mi) and is the largest in South America: its length is 159 km (99 mi) and its maximum width, 108 km (67 mi). It is supposed to be between 20 and 36 million years old. In the extreme north it is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela (Caribbean Sea) by the Strait of Tablazo, 5.5 km (3.4 mi). It is fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo River. The Maracaibo basin is one of the most oil rich areas in the world, which began to be exploited in 1914. The lake also has numerous islands, some of sedimentary origin and others of tectonic origin. The shores of the lake were inhabited by the aborigens Añú, they called it Coquivacoa. There were also other tribes in the area, such as the Wayuu, the Caquetio and the Quiriquires. The first European to arrive to the lake there was the explorer Alonso de Ojeda (his name is misspelled on the stamp), in 1499.