30 ^ CARACCAS. 



Venezuela is the national name adopted at 

 present by the confederate provinces, and 

 Caraccas is their metropolis ; the province 

 of Venezuela has taken the name of pro- 

 vince of Caraccas. This province is bounded 

 on the W. by the sea, on the N.W. by that 

 of Maracaybo, on the N. by that of Cumana, 

 and on the E. and S. E. by that of Varinas. 



" The commercial port of the province 

 of Caraccas is La Guayra : it is a bay, open 

 to all winds, and an unsafe anchorage in 

 stormy weather ; but this port has the ad- 

 vantage of being only five leagues from 

 Caraccas. La Guayra is built on the side 

 of a mountain, which, in this climate, adds 

 to the heat of the atmosphere : from the 

 beginning of April to the month of No- 

 vember, Fahrenheit's thermometer is usually 

 at 90^; and from the beginning of November 

 to the end of March, it is generally at 85*^ 

 or 86^ The humidity of the climate, added 



