The =Telegraph= service, with about 6000 miles of wire, is cheap and called efficient; the telephone lines have double their length of wire. At Caracas, Maracaibo, and Maracay there are wireless stations communicating with Curaçao and so with the outside world. There is also cable service. =Money= is in gold, silver, and nickel coins, and there are bank notes issued by four banks. The bolívar is the unit of money, equal to the French franc: 19.3 cents. A dollar passes for 5 bolívars. American money circulates near the coast, as does the English sovereign. The natives frequently use the term peso for which they employ the $ sign. As the peso equals but 4 bolívars this creates confusion and mistakes must be guarded against. The =Metric System= is official, compulsory, and in general use. CHAPTER VIII VENEZUELA: PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS The configuration of Venezuela is simpler than that of Colombia; the country has four distinct sections: First, a mountain region including the Venezuelan Andes, which is a branch of the East Cordillera of Colombia; and a range called the Maritime Andes extending along the coast. Second, lying east and south of the mountains, the great plain of the llanos occupying a large part of the Orinoco Basin. Third, the Guiana or Guayana Highlands south of the Orinoco, extending to the eastern and southern boundaries and occupying a great extent of unexplored territory. Fourth, the coastal plain around Lake Maracaibo. FIRST SECTION The Andes coming in from Colombia cross the northwestern portion of Venezuela in two or more ranges, separating the great Orinoco Basin from the lowlands lying between this chain and that part of the Colombian East Cordillera called the Sierra de Perija. A number of the mountains are above 13,000 feet, the highest, La Columna, is 16,522 feet. Though none of the mountains are volcanoes, earthquakes are common. The general height of the range decreases on the south towards Colombia, and north towards the Caribbean Sea, till at one point at the north, near where the city of Barquisimeto is located in the valley between the two ranges, the Rio Cojedes goes through to the Orinoco Basin. Beyond the Cojedes River the Maritime Andes stretch along the coast in two parallel ranges, the high valley between them being the most densely populated part of the country. The peak above Caracas, called the Silla de Caracas, one of the highest of this section, has an altitude of 8650 feet; Naiguatá passes 9000. After a considerable break at Cape Codera the mountains continue to the Gulf of Paria. The western branch of the Venezuelan Andes, turning north, continues towards the coast in low ranges called the Segovia Highlands, with the Maracaibo district on the west. SECOND SECTION