Lake Maracaibo

By Michael Kerr

Founders of Lake Maracaibo

• Discovered in 1499 by the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda on a voyage with Amerigo Vespucci

• Legend has it that upon entering the lake, they found groups of indigenous huts, built over stilts on water ("palafitos" in Spanish), interconnected by boardwalks on stilts, with each other and with the lake shore

• The Palafitos reminded the explorers of Venice, and the land discovered was given the name of "Venezuela", which means "Little Venice" in Spanish

Lake Maracaibo

• The lake is in Venezuela• The largest lake in South America (5,100 sq miles) • A strait, 34 mi long, connects it with the Gulf of Venezuela

Lake Maracaibo Facts

• It extends 110 miles inland• The lake lies in the extremely hot, humid

lowlands of the Maracaibo basin• It is one of the oldest lakes in the world • The basin is one of the major oil-producing

areas of the world

Why Lake Maracaibo is Important• The oil capital of

South America• Oil development

began in 1918• Tankers, of between

15,000 and 25,000 barrels of oil, made up to ten round trips per month

• Supports 20,000 fishermen

How Oil Affects Lake Maracaibo

• When oil spills happen:– Dark oil slicks spread from

the middle of the lake towards the shores, the wetlands, mangroves, beaches and docks

– Oil gets in the fishing nets, coats the garbage dumped into the water, kills off wildlife, and drives away residents and tourists

Present

• Goajiros, the first known settlers, are still present in large numbers

• Supplies 2/3 of Venezuela petroleum

• There is some tourism in these crystal clear waters, in the south, with beautiful sunsets

Past

• The first productive well was drilled in 1917

• The deeper channel was completed in 1957 to allow ocean going ships and tankers to pass

• Most of the oil industry was made by American, Dutch, and British investments

• In 1975 the Venezuelan government took over the oil industry

Present Harms to Lake Maracaibo• Duck weed

– Boats engines get clogged with Duck Weed and makes it hard for small boat fishermen

– Nets get clogged and fishermen accidentally discard fish and crustaceans

• Oil – Oil spills– Dispersants used on oil

slicks• Human activity is a large

source of pollution

Poverty in Lake Maracaibo

• Lake Maracaibo is the oil capital of South America but its people are very poor

• The government makes a lot of empty promises about villages getting food, medicine, education, job training, and more

• Young children learn until 6th grade then the boys go fishing and the girls make babies

• Most of the villages houses are huts without running water and electricity

Works Cited

• http://www.globalissues.org/news/2010/07/27/6426

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Maracaibo• http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Lake_M

aracaibo.aspx• http://www.counterpunch.org/kozloff050320

10.html• Britannica encyclopedia, book 7, pg 811• http://www.penambulbooks.com/Downloads

/reporteng072204.pdf• http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40181