Mérida, Mérida

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Mérida

Flag of the city of Mérida Coat of arms of the city of Mérida
Panoramic view of the city of Mérida
Founded as: Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida
Motto of the city: La ciudad de los caballeros
State	Mérida
Municipality	Libertador Municipality
Mayor	Carlos León (2004–2008)
Surface	25 km² (approx.)
Population  - Total (2001)  - Density	300,000 inh. (Metropolitan area) 204,879 inh. 12,000 inh./km²
GMT	GMT/UTC -4
Altitude	1,630 m
Latitude Longitude	8° 35' 12" N 71° 9' 29" W
Telephone Code	+58 274
Gentilicio	Merideño/a
Founded	9 October 1558
Sitio Web: http://www.merida5101.com/

For other places named Mérida, see Mérida.

The Venezuelan city of Mérida is capital of the state of the same name, Mérida State, as well as the state's Libertador Municipality. Known as La Ciudad de los Caballeros, ("The City of Gentlemen"), the city is considered one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Venezuela.

Mérida has a population of 204,879 (2001 Census) summed up with the surrounding settlements of Ejido (estimated 200,000) and Tienditas del Chama (50,000-100,000), making it a medium conurbation if one considers the entire valley. The city is filled with a highly active cultural life. The weather and natural scenery of the city are one of its well known attributes. Although at a tropical latitude, its climate is relatively mild (daily high temperatures around 20 to 25 °C), with easy access to Venezuela's highest mountains in the Andes (some of them reaching above the snow line) where temperature can go below freezing point.

As told in www.natoura.com, 'In Mérida, daytime temperatures are usually around 23 to 25 °C, but on overcast days they can reach as low as 7 to 10 °C. In the mountains at night, the temperature can get down to 0 °C, and at higher altitudes it can drop to -5 °C. So goes the saying in the tropical Andes, "summer by day, winter by night"'.

Mérida is home to the University of the Andes (http://www.ula.ve), known by its Spanish acronym ULA. It also hosts the world's longest and highest cablecar, the French-built Mérida Cable Car, rising to 4,765 meters (15,633 ft) across 12.5 km in four stages. Mérida also boasts the Heladería Coromoto, ice cream parlor noted in the Guinness Book of Records as having the most flavors. Mérida is an ideal place for any of a wide variety of outdoor sports and activities.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Surrounding cities 4 References

[edit] History

Mérida was founded October 9, 1558 by the Spanish captain Juan Rodríguez Suárez with a group of 59 to 70 soldiers in the town of "San Juan de Lagunillas", although a year later it was moved to its modern location some kilometres further in the Chama river valley by Juan de Maldonado acting under the authority of the "Audiencia de Santa Fe". It is named for the city of Mérida, Spain.

In 1813 Mérida first coined the name "El Libertador" for independence hero Simón Bolívar, when he arrived in the city, victorious, in the first period of the Campaña Admirable (Admirable Campaign), the first campaign to liberate Venezuela from the Spanish. The title was later ratified in Caracas the same year, and lives on today as one of Simón's legacies all across the world.

[edit] Geography

The city is located in the cordillera andina, in the valley formed between the Sierra Nevada de Mérida and the Sierra La Culata, between the rivers Chama and Albarregas.

- Latitude: 8.6° N

- Longitude: 71.18333° W

Access by road is through Trasandina (troncal 7) joining Mérida with Trujillo, Barinas and Táchira states. It also has a national airport Aeropuerto Alberto Carnevali (SVMD).

[edit] Surrounding cities

The valley where Mérida is located houses three cities: Ejido, Tienditas del Chama and Mérida itself.

Ejido is a bedroom community for Mérida, which is connected to it by the Avenida Andrés Bello, and over the years Mérida and Ejido have closed in on each other, almost turning it into a conurbation. The distance between them is however sufficient as to declare them separate cities. They are very similar cities in all aspects, including architecture, population, layout, etc.

Tienditas del Chama is a small "town" in the skirts of the Mérida mesa, in the Chama river basin, hence its name. It is connected to Mérida by a series of winding roads on the side of the mountain. Like Ejido, Tienditas is also a bedroom city for Mérida, where most of the valley's industries and jobs are based. Tienditas is a fairly poor town, with regular rural architecture.

Coordinates: 8°36′N 71°09′W

[edit] References