SPAIN

SPAIN / ESPAÑA.

Missions of the Capuchin Fathers in the Orinoco.
Map of a part of the Orinoco River by Pablo Díaz Fajardo (1733).
First stamp in a set of 5, issued on 12.10.1968.
Face value: 40 cents of Spanish peseta.
Printed by F.N.M.T. (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre), Madrid.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 8,000,000 copies.
Size: 26 x 41 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 1888.
- Edifil No. 1889.
- Michel No. 1782.
- Scott No. 1547.
- StampWorld No. 1788.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1947.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1549.

In 1681 the Catalan Capuchin Fathers were authorized to cross the Atlantic to carry out evangelization in American lands. However, until 1722 they did not obtain the first fruitful results. In 1772 two of them, Benet de la Garriga and Marià de Mataró, went up the Orinoco River, crossed the Gran Sabana and entered lands still unknown to Europeans, on the banks of the Caroní River; they were later joined by other religious of the same order. 28 Capuchin missions were established, linked together by a network of roads. Although the task of these missionaries began to decline at the end of the 18th century, the Capuchins paved the way for other religious and lay expeditionaries. In the first decades of the 20th century some missions were still active.

The map reproduced on the stamp was made in 1733 by the Spanish soldier Pablo Díaz Fajardo, who gave his name to the island that can be seen in the upper part, at the confluence of the Caroní River with the Orinoco, where the current Ciudad Guayana is located.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Tourism.
Llovizna Falls on the Coroní River.
Second stamp in a set of 6, issued on 22.03.1960.
Face value: 0.15 Venezuelan bolívares.
Printed by Bundesdruckerei, Berlin.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 50,000 copies.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1305.
- Scott No. 783.
- StampWorld No. 1325.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1583.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 601.

Llovizna Falls is a waterfall on the Caroní River, close to its confluence with the Orinoco, located in the 160-hectare Llovizna Park, at Puerto Ordaz, in Ciudad Guayana, Bolívar State. The waterfall is about 20 meters high. The nearby Macagua Dam has reduced the flow over the waterfall in recent years, but the cascade continues to be spectacular and is a major tourist attraction.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Opening of General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge in Lake Maracaibo.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 24.08.1963.
Face value: 0.35 Venezuelan bolívares.
Printed by De La Rue & Co. Ltd., Basingstoke (England).
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 300,000 copies.
Size: 30 x 40.5 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1505.
- Scott No. 838.
- StampWorld No. 1525.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1790.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 680.

The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge, also locally called the Bridge over the Lake, crosses the narrowest part (the Tablazo Strait) of Lake Maracaibo, in the State of Zulia, in northwestern Venezuela, and connects the city of Maracaibo with the rest from the country. Designed by the Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi and later modified by the Puente Maracaibo Consortium (Consorcio Puente Maracaibo, CPM), it was built in reinforced and prestressed concrete between 1957 and 1963. It has 134 pillars, a length of 8,678 m (28,471 ft) and a width of 17.40 m (57 ft). It was officially inaugurated and opened to traffic on August 24, 1962. At the beginning of the 21st century, it was renovated and illuminated in its six main pillars, using 96 600 W luminaires that can change color. The bridge is named after General Rafael Urdaneta, a Venezuelan hero of Independence who was born in Maracaibo.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Tourism.
Playa Colorada.
First stamp in a set of 6, issued on 24.01.1969.
Face value: 0.15 Venezuelan bolívares.
Printed by Bundesdruckerei, Berlin.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 500,000 copies.
Size: 39 x 30 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1771.
- Scott No. 930.
- StampWorld No. 1791.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2059.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 772.

Playa Colorada is a beach on the Caribbean Sea, located in the Mochima National Park in the state of Sucre. It owes its name to the color of its sand, which has shades ranging from reddish to gold. It is characterized by its crystal clear waters, its coconut palms and its rich fauna, formed mainly by seabirds and dolphins. It is approximately 400 m (1,310 ft) long. It is under the responsibility of the Instituto Nacional de Parques (National Institute of Parks).

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

80th anniversary of the death of Francisco de Miranda.
Map of Orinoco River basin.
First stamp in a set of 5, issued on 04.07.1896.
Face value: 5 Venezuelan cents.
Design: Pius Schlageter (1856-1949).
Printed by Imprenta Nacional, Caracas.
Print: 1,250,000 copies.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 48.
- Scott No. 137.
- StampWorld No. 58.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 169.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 54.

Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza, commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (March 28, 1750 – July 14, 1816), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spanish American colonies failed, he is regarded as a forerunner of Simón Bolívar, who during the Spanish American wars of independence successfully liberated much of South America. He was known as "The First Universal Venezuelan" and "The Great Universal American".

he Orinoco Basin is the part of South America drained by the Orinoco river and its tributaries. The Orinoco watershed covers an area of about 990,000 km² (382,240 sq mi), making it the third largest in South America, covering most of Venezuela and eastern part of Colombia. The Orinoco is one of the most important rivers in the world due to its length (2,140 km, 1,330 mi), the extent of its basin (1 million km²) and especially its historical importance and economic and the meaning it has had for Venezuela.

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Thanks to Daniel Mathieu for his contribution (http://lettresdumonde.blogspot.com/)

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Conference, Caracas.
Auyán-tepuy and Carrao River.
Fifth stamp in a set of 10, issued on 26.09.2000.
Face value: 300 Venezuelan bolívares.
Design: Ana Carolina Palmero.
Printed by Gráficas Armitano, Caracas.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 20,000 copies.
Size: 38 x 32 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 3398.
- Scott No. 1616e.
- StampWorld No. 3427.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3654.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2169E.

Auyán-tepui is a tepui in Bolívar state, in the Guiana Highlands, within Canaima National Park, with a summit area of 666.9 km² (257.5 sq mi). The unevenly heart-shaped summit plateau of Auyán-tepui is heavily inclined, rising from around 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in the northwest to a maximum of 2,450 m (8,040 ft) in the southeast. The mountain hosts a number of extensive cave systems.

The Carrao River is part of the Orinoco River basin. It is well known for one of its main tributaries, the Churún River, which feeds the Angel Falls. It flows mainly through the Canaima National Park. It empties into the Caroní River, one of the main tributaries of the Orinoco in Venezuela.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Conference, Caracas.
Mochima National Park.
Sixth stamp in a set of 10, issued on 26.09.2000.
Face value: 400 Venezuelan bolívares.
Design: Ana Carolina Palmero.
Printed by Gráficas Armitano, Caracas.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 20,000 copies.
Size: 38 x 32 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 3401.
- Scott No. 1616h.
- StampWorld No. 3428.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3657.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2169H.

Mochima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Mochima) is located in the States of Anzoátegui and Sucre, on the northeastern coast of Venezuela. It covers 949,35 km² (94,935 hectares) and is made up of an exclusively marine area in its western sector, a coastal marine area that includes the Gulf of Santa Fe and Mochima Bay, and a mountainous area that covers the Turimiquire Dam watershed. The park was created on December 19, 1973 to protect the montane forests of the Turimiquire Range and the country's eastern Caribbean Sea marine landscapes.

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.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

States of Venezuela.
Map and coat of arms of Táchira State.
First stamp in a set of 2, issued on 15.10.1971.
Face value: 0.55 Venezuelan bolívar.
Printed by Litografía del Comercio, Caracas.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 350,000 copies.
Size: 33 x 48 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1886.
- Scott No. 986.
- StampWorld No. 1905.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2131.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 830.

Táchira is one of the twenty-three states that, together with the Capital District and the Federal Dependencies, make up the Republic of Venezuela. It was created in 1899. Its capital is San Cristóbal. It is located in the Andean region, in the west of the country, limiting to the north with Zulia, to the northeast with Mérida, to the south with Barinas and Apure, and to the west with the Republic of Colombia. Its area is 11,100 km² (4,300 sq mi) and its population, in 2011, was 1,168,908 inhabitants. Its highest point is the peak El Púlpito, which 3,942 m (12,933 ft) above the sea level. The hydrography is varied, there are several rivers of considerable flow, such as the Torbes, the Caparo and the Uribante.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

States of Venezuela.
Map ans coat of arms of Yaracuy State.
First stamp in a set of 2, issued on 15.11.1971.
Face value: 0,75 Venezuelan bolívar.
Printed by Litografía del Comercio, Caracas.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 350,000 copies.
Size: 48 x 33 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1888.
- Scott No. 988.
- StampWorld No. 1907.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2133.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 832.

Yaracuy is one of the twenty-three states that, together with the Capital District and the Federal Dependencies, make up the Republic of Venezuela. It was created in 1899. Its capital is San Felipe. It is located in the central-western region of the country, limiting to the north with Falcón, to the northeast with the Triste Gulf (Caribbean Sea), to the east with Carabobo, to the south with Cojedes and to the west with Lara. Its area is 7,100 km² (2,700 sq mi) and its population, in 2017, was 785,125 inhabitants. The most important rivers that run through it, belonging to the Caribbean basin, are the Yaracuy and the Aroa. The predominant economic activity is agriculture.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

States of Venezuela.
Map and coat of arms of Falcón State.
Airmail. Second stamp in a set of 2, issued on 15.04.1971.
Face value: 0.65 Venezuelan bolívar.
Printed by Litografía del Comercio, Caracas.
Printed: Offset lithography.
Print: 450,000 copies.
Size: 48 x 33 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1867.
- Scott No. C1043.
- StampWorld No. 1886.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2145.
- Yvert et Tellier No. PA 1001.

Falcón is one of the twenty-three states that, together with the Capital District and the Federal Dependencies, make up the Republic of Venezuela. It was created in 1899. Its capital is Coro. It is located in the Central-Western Region: it is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Venezuela, the Caribbean Sea and the leeward group of the Netherlands Antilles, to the east by the Triste Gulf (Caribbean Sea), to the south by Yaracuy and Lara, and to the west with Zulia. Its area is 24,800 km² (9,600 sq mi) and its population, in 2015, 1,015,212 inhabitants. Falcón State is located in the north of the geographic region called the Corian System. To the south, it is made up of medium altitude mountain ranges configured from east to west, which in the eastern part of the state reach the Caribbean, forming maritime valleys. West from the city of Coro a coastal plain runs parallel to the Gulf of Venezuela. To the north lies one of the most characteristic geographic features of the Venezuelan coast: the Paraguana Peninsula, linked to the mainland by the isthmus of Médanos de Coro National Park. 

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

States of Venezuela.
Map and coat of arms of Trujillo State.
Stamp issued on 15.10.1971.
Face value: 0.65 Venezuelan bolívares.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 450,000 copies.
Size: 48 x 33.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1887.
- Scott No. 987.
- StampWorld No. 1906.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2132.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 831.

Trujillo is one of the twenty-three states that, together with the Capital District and the Federal Dependencies, make up the Republic of Venezuela. It was created in 1899. Its capital is the homonymous Trujillo and its most populated city, Valera. It is located in the west of the country, in the Andes region. It limits to the north with the states of Zulia and Lara, to the east with Portuguesa, to the south with Barinas, to the southwest with Mérida and to the west with Lake Maracaibo. Its area is 7,400 km² (2,779 sq mi) and its population, in 2021, of 893,785 inhabitants. It is mainly mountainous because it is crossed from southwest to northeast by the Andes mountain range, although it also has hills and plains; the highest point of the state is the Teta de Niquitao, 4,006 m (13,143 ft). Among the rivers that cross it, the most important is the Motatán.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Conference, Caracas.

Angel Falls (Salto Ángel).
First stamp in a set of 10, issued as minisheet on 26.09.2000.
Face value: 300 Venezuelan bolívares.
Printed by Gráficas Armitano, Caracas.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 38 x 32 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 3394.
- Scott No. 1616a.
- StampWorld No. 3423.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3650.
- Yvert et Tellier No. F 2169A.

Angel Falls (Spanish: Salto Ángel; Pemon language: Kerepakupai Vená) is the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 meters (3,212 ft) and a plunge of 807 m (2,648 ft). The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyán-tepui mountain in the Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima), a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State. The falls are along a fork of the Río Kerepacupai Merú which flows into the Churún River, a tributary of the Carrao River, itself a tributary of the Orinoco River. The waterfall has been known as the Angel Falls since the mid-20th century; they are named after Jimmie Angel, a U.S. aviator, who was the first person to fly over the falls on November 16, 1933. 

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Regional development.
Regional map of Venezuela.
Stamp issued on 13.12.1973.
Face value: 0.25 Venezuelan bolívar.
Printed by Bundesdruckerei, Berlin.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 1,000,000 copies.
Size: 39 x 30 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1957.
- Scott No. 1056.
- StampWorld No. 1976.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2246.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 904.

The regionalization of Venezuela, which began in 1969, had as its primary purpose to promote the development of the different parts that make up the country's territory in economic, social and political aspects, according to the peculiarities and resources of each area. In this way, an attempt was made to end the existing polarization between the coastal region around Caracas and the rest of Venezuela. Later, by a decree of January 14, 1980, the administrative regions of Venezuela were set at 9, according to the geographical, economic and cultural similarities of the states integrated in them.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

4th centenary of Caracas, 1567-1967.
Sketch of the city of Caracas for 1578.
Airmail. Eleventh stamp in a set of 13, issued on 12.07.1967.
Face value: 0.90 Venezuelan bolívar.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Printed by Litografía del Comercio, Caracas.
Print: 750,000 copies.
Size: 42 x 32 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 1712A.
- Scott No. C957.
- StampWorld No. 1732.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1999.
- Yvert et Tellier No. PA 920.

In 1560, a mestizo from Margarita Island installed a small cattle establishment in the north of Venezuela, where later the Spanish conqueror Juan Rodríguez Suárez arrived, who established the Villa de San Francisco there to defend the area from frequent confrontations between indigenous tribes. In 1567 another Spanish conqueror, Diego de Losada, populated the place and on July 25 of the same year he founded the city of Santiago de León de Caracas (Caracas was the transcription of the name that the indigenous Caribs gave to that region). Shortly after, Governor Juan de Pimentel established it as his residence and administrative capital of the province of Venezuela. In 1578 Pimentel designed the first urban map of Caracas, which is the one reproduced on the stamp.

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Thanks to Dragan Buškulić for his contribution.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Electrification program.
Guri Dam.
Last stamp in a set of 4, issued on 08.11.1968.
Face value: 0.80 Venezuelan bolívar.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Printed by Bundesdruckerei, Berlin.
Print: 400,000 copies.
Size: 29 x 38 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 1755.
- Scott No. 922.
- StampWorld No. 1755.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2043.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 764.

The Guri reservoir (in Spanish, Represa de Guri), in Bolívar State, on the Caroní River, is the second largest lake body in Venezuela, surpassed only by Lake Maracaibo. It has an area of 4,250 km² (1,641 sq mi) and a length of 150 km (93 mi), and was formed when the dam of the same name was built between 1963 and 1968, where the "Simón Bolívar" Hydroelectric Plant is located, inaugurated in 1986 with the name of Central Hidroeléctrica “Raúl Leoni”, which was changed to the current one in 2006. The dam has a total length of 7,426 m (24,364 ft). The interior walls of the power plant were decorated by the Venezuelan kinetic artist Carlos Cruz-Díez.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

150th anniversary of the creation of Greater Colombia.
Historical map of Greater Colombia (Gran Colombia).
Stamp issued on 16.12.1969.
Face value: 0.45 Venezuelan bolívar.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Printed by Litografía del Comercio, Caracas.
Print: 1,000,000 copies.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 1816
- Scott No. 956.
- StampWorld No. 1835.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2104.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 796.

Greater Colombia (Gran Colombia) is the historiographical designation of a large disappeared country in South America, which legally existed between 1819 and 1831, created by the Congress of Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar) through a fundamental law ratified in 1821 in Cúcuta, where the national Constitution was drawn up. The country was formed by the union of Venezuela and New Granada into a single nation under the name of the Republic of Colombia, which was later joined by Panama (1821), Quito and Guayaquil (1822). The capital was Bogotá and the first president was Simón Bolívar. Its surface corresponded to the current republics of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela (including Guayana Esequiba) and other territories that later passed to Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua and Honduras. The country dissolved in the late 1820s and early 1830s, due to political differences between supporters of federalism and centralism, as well as regional tensions.

VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Federal Territory of Delta Amacuro.
Map of the territory.
Airmail. Fourth stamp of 9, issued on 13.02.1953.
Face value: 25 cents of Venezuelan bolívar.
Printing: Photogravure.
Printed by Courvoisier S.A., La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
Print: 400,000 copies.
Size: 26 x 41 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 901.
- Scott No. C449.
- StampWorld No. 921.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1195.
- Yvert et Tellier No. PA 459.

Delta Amacuro is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It is located in the northeast of the country in the Guayana region, in the Orinoco River delta, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 40,200 km² (15,520 sq mi) and in 2011 its population was about 167,500 inhabitants. The area was documented for the first time in 1499 by Alonso de Ojeda, and visited in 1500 by Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. Diego de Ordaz was the first explorer to go up the Orinoco River from there in 1532. On October 3, 1899, the region was annexed to British Guiana, but in 1901 it was restored to Venezuela, which administered it as a Federal Territory until 2015 it was declared a federal state and Warao was recognized as a co-official language.

SPAIN

SPAIN / ESPAÑA.

Explorers and colonisers of America: Venezuela.
Map of Santiago de León de Caracas.
Last stamp in a set of 5. issued on 12.10.1968.
Face value: 6 pesetas.
Printed by F. N. M. T. (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre), Madrid.
Stamp: 8,000,000 copies.

Catalogues
- Edifil No. 1893.
- StampWorld No. 1792.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2001.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1553. 

In 1560, a mestizo from Margarita Island installed a small cattle establishment in the north of Venezuela, where later the Spanish conqueror Juan Rodríguez Suárez arrived, who established the Villa de San Francisco there to defend the area from frequent confrontations between indigenous tribes. In 1567 another Spanish conqueror, Diego de Losada, populated the place and on July 25 of the same year he founded the city of Santiago de León de Caracas (Caracas was the transcription of the name that the indigenous Caribs gave to that region). Shortly after, Governor Juan de Pimentel established it as his residence and administrative capital of the province of Venezuela. In 1578 Pimentel designed the first urban map of Caracas, which is the one reproduced on the stamp.