| Falcón State Estado Falcón |
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| — State — | |||
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| Motto: Dios y Federación (Spanish: God and Federation) |
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| Anthem: Falcón State Anthem | |||
| Location within Venezuela | |||
| Country | Venezuela | ||
| Created | 1864[c] | ||
| Capital | Coro | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Stella Lugo (2008–2012) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 24,800 km2 (9,575.3 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 10th | ||
| 2.71% of Venezuela | |||
| Population (2010 est.) | |||
| • Total | 950,057 | ||
| • Rank | 11th | ||
| 3.45% of Venezuela | |||
| Time zone | UTC-04:30 | ||
| ISO 3166 code | VE-I | ||
| Emblematic tree | Cují yaque (Prosopis juliflora) | ||
| Website | www.falcon.gob.ve | ||
| ^[c] As Coro State; in 1874, it was renamed as Falcón State. | |||
Falcón State (Spanish: Estado Falcón, IPA: [esˈtaðo falˈkon]) is one of the 23 states (estados) into which Venezuela is divided. The state capital is Coro.
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Falcón State covers a total surface area of 24,800 km² and, in 2010, had an estimated population of 950,057.[1] The Paraguaná Peninsula is connected to the rest of the state by the Médanos Isthmus. The island of Aruba is 27 km off the northern coast of Paraguaná Peninsula. The other two ABC islands (Bonaire and Curaçao) are a little further off the coast of the state.
There are four national parks in the state: the Médanos de Coro National Park, the Cueva de la Quebrada del Toro, Morrocoy, and Juan Crisóstomo Falcón National Park.
The area was first explored in 1499 by Juan de la Cosa and Amerigo Vespucci, as part of an expedition overseen by Alonso de Ojeda.[2] The State is named after President Juan Crisóstomo Falcón.
The region is mostly coastal lowlands and the northern Andean mountain hills, and is mostly dry with limited agriculture production.[2] Farming mostly occurs in river valleys and mountainous areas, and includes maize, coconut, sesame, coffee and sugar cane.[2]
Coro, the state capitol and the Paraguaná Peninsula have had significant amounts of industrialization and growth.[2] Large oil refineries such as the Paraguana Refinery Complex in the city of Punto Fijo are located on the southwestern shore of the Paraguaná Peninsula, and approximately two-thirds of Venezuela’s total oil production occurs in this area, much of which is exported via tanker ships[2] that ship internationally through the port of Amuay.
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