Aragua
Aragua State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Located in the Central Region of Venezuela, it has plains, jungles, and Caribbean beaches, of which the most popular are Cata and Choroni. It has Venezuela's first national park, Henri Pittier National Park. The capital is Maracay, and it includes other important cities like Turmero and El Limón.
Aragua State covers a total surface area of and, based on the 2011 census information, the estimated population of Aragua State in 2012 is 1,630,308 inhabitants.
Etymology
The name of the state comes from an indigenous word of Cumanagoto origin, which is used to refer to the Chaguaramo, a type of palm from the region. However, according to Carlos Blanco Galeno, a chronicler from Turmero, it derives from the Cariban aregua, with the morphemes are and gua, which in turn derives from ogun ; so aregua would mean 'my place, my country'. This same word inspired the name of the Aragua River, an important tributary of Lake Valencia.History
The land where the city of Maracay is located today was granted to Sebastián Díaz Alfaro in the 16th century. After his death, the land passed to his son, Mateo. At that time, these lands were known as Valle de Tucupío and Tepatopo, and they were used for cattle grazing. Towards Tucupío, Tapatapa, Guey and El Rincón, sugar cane and cocoa were planted.By the year 1700, about 40 families inhabited the valley, which went to Bishop Diego de Baños y Sotomayor to choose a parish, which was equivalent to giving consistency to the official population center.
On March 5, the city of Maracay was founded, taking its name from the Maracay River. Maracay suffered the vicissitudes of the emancipatory revolution, being of special interest the events of 1812-13 that took place at the La Trinidad hacienda. Later, in 1816 and 1818, there was the assault of La Cabrera and the battle of Maracay, where the patriotic troops were defeated. The Federal War also left its mark on the town, seriously affecting the surrounding countryside. In addition, there was a terrible plague epidemic, apparently caused by the decomposition of fermented indigo, which claimed many victims.
The beginnings of Maracay's urban and economic transformation began during the administration of General Juan Vicente Gómez, who resided in the city from the beginning of his government. In 1898, La Victoria was designated as the capital of the state and later, in 1917, it was moved to Maracay, a status it still retains.
File:Iglesia Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria.jpg|300px|thumb| Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria Church, established by the Spanish colonists in the 18th century in Turmero, Aragua State
Conquest and Spanish Colonial Era
Aragua was part of the Province of Caracas from 1555.European groups later penetrated the area of Aragua than what is now Carabobo or Miranda. It was in the last decade of the 16th century when the Spanish began to implant encomiendas in the Valleys of Aragua. By 1620 all the lands of Aragua were divided among some 40 encomenderos, who lived primarily in the Valley of Caracas.
Maracay was founded in 1701.
By 1780, La Victoria was a town with about 800 Indians who only spoke Spanish and more than 4,000 people from other groups, including Spaniards, Creoles, mestizos, blacks, and Zambos.
Alexander von Humboldt referred to the fact that, by 1800, the population in the area of the valleys of Aragua - which at that time included both sides of Lake Valencia - was mostly composed of brown and creole people, apart from zambos and slaves, and that there were still approximately 5000 registered Indians, most of whom were concentrated in Turmero and Guacara. None of them spoke their ancestral languages anymore.
19th century
Aragua was created as a province on February 11, 1848, when it was separated from that of Caracas, with a territory similar to that which today encompasses the current state of Aragua and composed of La Victoria, Turmero, Maracay, Villa de Cura, and San Sebastian, having the city of La Victoria as its capital.In 1864, Aragua became an independent state until 1866, when it merged with Guárico to form the state of Guzmán Blanco. Its capital changed to Villa de Cura in 1881. In 1899, Aragua recovered its status as an autonomous state
20th century
In 1917, its capital was moved from La Victoria to Maracay. The dictator Juan Vicente Gómez stayed most of his time in Maracay and it was there that he died in 1935.Its definitive limits were established by protocols signed with the bordering states at different times: in 1909, 1917, and 1933.
In 1989 he elected his first governor under direct universal and secret elections, which ended the practice of having a government designated from the central government in Caracas.
Geography
Aragua borders the Caribbean Sea to the north, with its coastline backed by the fast-rising central Cordillera mountain range. Codazzi Peak reaches over 2400 m above sea level. Much of the rest of the state is made up of fertile valleys used for intensive agriculture, apart from in the extreme south, where the flats of the central Llanos region begin. On the western border is Lake Valencia.The main rivers in the state are the Aragua, the Guárico, the El Limón, the Tuy, the Pao, and the Turmero. They flow into the Caribbean Sea, Lake Valencia, or feed the vast Orinoco River network. The Camatagua reservoir is one of the main reservoirs supplying Caracas.
Geology
Four natural regions can be distinguished in the entity: the coastal mountain range, the depression of Lake Valencia, the inland mountain range, and the Central Wavy Plains. In the depression of Lake Valencia, recent sedimentary formations predominate, while the mountainous areas present others that are highly affected by metamorphic processes, although in the presence of nuclei with more conserved igneous and sedimentary rocks. In the mountain ranges of the Interior chain, galleys can be observed, as spurs of that mountain range, which smoothen their forms towards the South until they enter the formation of the plains.Area
The region has an area of 7,014 km2, most of which is mountainous, and represents 0.76% of the Venezuelan territory. The maritime coast of the state extends from Turiamo Bay in the west to Puerto Maya in the east, corresponding to the central section of the Coastal Range. The southern zone of the state runs from the southern piedmont lands of the Caribbean mountain range, through the curve of the 100 meter level that separates the Llanos Altos from the Llanos Bajos to the depression of the Unare River and the San Carlos River that separates it from the Llanos Altos Occidentales.Relief
One of the largest reliefs in the world crosses the state of , in an east–west direction, two parallel mountain ranges, separated from each other by a central depression, which determines the existence of three well-differentiated physiographic regions, which follow each other from north to south. The northern end is hilly with the central stretch of the Litoral mountain range that culminates with El Cenizo peak at 2,436 meters above sea level and Codazzi peak at 2,426 meters above sea level.Hydrography
The hydrographic network of the state is part of three major points: the tip of the Caribbean Sea, formed by the rivers; San Miguel, Ocumare, Cata, Gaurapito, Aroa and through the river Tuy, the rivers of its upper basin: the Orinoco river basin, formed by the high point and part of the middle point of the Guárico river and the middle part of the Memo river and finally, the endorheic point of the Valencia lake where the Aragua, Turmero, Maracay, Caño Grande, Tapatapa, Tocorón and Las Minas rivers pour their waters. In the latter, the surface courses have been considerably reduced, as it is no longer possible to use the water from these rivers for human consumption. These rivers have now become the main collectors of wastewater discharges, both for urban industrial and agricultural use.Climate
Due to its diversity in relief and altitudes that it possesses in all its extension, there are different thermal floors in which the temperature tends to have different climatic characteristics and temperatures that decrease with the increase of the altitude. In the coastal strip dominates a semi-arid and warm climate, as it is evidenced in Turiamo and Puerto Maya. Orographic rainfall occurs at elevations on the northern flank of the Serranía de Litoral, allowing for cooler and more humid conditions, which make possible the formation of cloud forests in the Henri Pittier National Park, local conditions allow for greater humidity and warmer temperatures in some coastal coves, such as Chuao, Choroní and Ocumare, which are used in traditional cocoa plantations.At the altitudes of the Coastal Range, an isothermal climate is expressed, reaching in Colonia Tovar, at 1,900 meters above sea level, an average annual temperature of only 15.4 °C and rainfall of 1,000 mm per year. In the depression of Lake Valencia and the valleys of Aragua, warmer conditions are recognized. In Maracay, at 545 meters above sea level, an average annual temperature of 25 °C and annual rainfall of 834 mm are recorded, with a well-defined dry season. In the plain sector, there is a rainy tropical savanna climate, with an average rainfall of 1,100 mm, a rigorous dry season and average annual temperatures of 26 °C.