Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes. It was founded in 1558, forming part of Nueva Granada, but later became part of the Captaincy General of Venezuela, and played an active role in the War of Independence.
Mérida has more than 200,000 inhabitants and a metropolitan area containing some 350,000 people. It is the main center for education and tourism in western Venezuela, the home of the prestigious University of the Andes, and the location of the highest and second longest aerial tramway in the world.

Mérida is at an altitude of approximately 1,600 meters (5,249 ft). The city sits on a plain in the valley of the Chama river, which runs from one end to the other. The backdrop of Mérida's skyline is the country's highest summit, Pico Bolívar.

Mérida was founded by Juan Rodríguez Suárez on October 9, 1558 in one of the Pamplonian mining expeditions he led. He named the city after his birthplace, Mérida. The first settlement of Mérida was not the current one but 30 km to the south, in Xamú, where today stands Lagunillas. Nevertheless, Rodríguez Suárez had to move the settlement in November 1559 to nearby El Punto (presently the Zumba area of Mérida), because of constant confrontations with the native neighbours.

Rodríguez Suárez's foundation had not been authorized by the New Granadian Authorities, so in 1560 they sent Juan de Maldonado to arrest Juan Rodríguez and regularize the new city. On June 24 Maldonado moved Mérida to its present location on the plateau and rechristened it as Santiago de los Caballeros. The city then came to be governed by the corregimiento of Tunja until 1607, when it became itself a corregimiento of the Audiencia of Santa Fe.

In 1622, Mérida became the capital of the Governorate of Mérida, whose chief official established his residence there. The city and territory were part of New Granada until 1777, when it was integrated into the Captaincy of Venezuela.

The city was elevated to the status of an episcopal see in 1785. This led to the creation of a seminary, which in 1811 became the University of Los Andes.

Etymology

The city received its name from the founder Juan Rodríguez, who baptized it this way in honor to his natal city, Mérida in Extremadura, Spain. However, Juan de Maldonado would rename it as San Juan de las Nieves. In 1559, he changed the name again, calling it Santiago de los Caballeros(Saint James of the Knights). Progressively, it became to be adopted the denomination Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, form that combined the variants that the city has been designated with until then.

The word Mérida comes from the term emerita, Latin voice whose meaning is pertaining to one who has merit and emeritus, which is the city name's real ethymologic origin, because other acception of the term in Latin was related with the soldiers who were licensed from the army. So Mérida City, present capital of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, has this origin: the name of Emerita Augusta means that it was a city founded in Augustus's times with army licensed soldiers, who settled in an existing town in exchange for giving the category of roman citizens to the old inhabitants. Besides, in Spanish and also in English, the word emeritus means retired ("Profesor Emérito" and "Emeritus Professor" mean retired professor). As time passes on, this name mutated until becoming Mérida, losing the initial "E" and changing the "t" for a "d", although other derivations as "meritory" or "em"eritus had maintained a similar form to the Latin word. And other common feature between the Spanish and the Venezuelan Méridas is that in both cities there is a tributary of the main river with the name Albarregas. The residents of Mérida, Venezuela, are called Merideños, while the inhabitants of Mérida, Spain, are Emeritenses, and those of a third Mérida in Mexico are referred to as Meridanos.

The city is located in the center of the Venezuelan Andes, in a wide plain in the valley of the Chama river, between the Sierra Nevada de Mérida to the southeast and the Sierra La Culata to the northwest. The old quarter of the city is on the alluvial plain known as Tatuy.

Mérida has four principal rivers, and various smaller streams in the less urbanized parts of the city—these have a significant water flow only in times of heavy precipitation. The most important river is the Chama, followed by the Albarregas, which cross the plain and divide it into two parts: the Banda Occidental (west bank) and the Banda Oriental (east bank). These two rivers run from one end of the city to the other. The other two principal rivers, the Mucujún and the Milla, flow into the Chama and Albarregas. In the lower part of the city is found the La Rosa lagoon, one of some 200 lagoons in the state of Mérida.

In the center of the city the terrain, located on a plain, is almost flat. Nonetheless, there is an average incline of 3 to 7 degrees, which causes a difference in altitude between the high and low parts of the city of more than 400 m, the average being 1,630 m above sea level at the Plaza Bolívar. However, the areas surrounding the city are rough and uneven, situated in the valleys formed by the Chama and Albarregas rivers and the Sierra Nevada and Sierra de La Culata ranges.

The valley in which the city is located was formed approximately 40 to 60 million years ago with the creation of the Venezuelan Andes and its continuous erosion by the area's water systems. Its soils consist of alluvial sediment and clay. Below the city runs the major tectonic fault in the western part of the country, the Boconó fault, which forms part of the South American Plate.

The vegetation in the interior of the city consists of medium to tall trees, and ferns (Pteridophyte), located mainly near the basin of the Albarregas river. On the outskirts of Mérida, one finds non-urbanized areas, where sub-mountainous and seasonal jungle vegetation predominates. On the other hand, vast coniferous forests extend toward the south, where they were planted some years ago. Toward the north and east, one finds cloud forests.

Significant among the local fauna are important populations of certain small and medium-sized birds such as hummingbirds and parrots (Psittacidae), spread particularly to the south of the city.

Despite the fact that the country in general has hot weather and a tropical climate, Mérida is more temperate with a mountain climate. This is because of its geographical location, in the Andes mountains, and its high altitude.

Though pollution has caused a rise in temperatures, this has been less, in relative terms, than in other important cities in Venezuela, with readings that vary between 18°C and 24°C, with an overall average of 22°C. Precipitation is of medium intensity during the rainy season, from April to November.

Venezuela is situated in an inter-tropical zone, so that there is very little temperature variance over the course of a year. The same is true in Mérida—the temperatures recorded in August are normally comparable to those measured under comparable conditions in broad daylight in January.

On the other hand, given Mérida's location in the interior of the country, far from the maritime coasts and the influence of the ocean, and its high altitude, the temperature variance over the course of a day is relatively high. Between day and night a difference of more than 10°C can be observed; this difference sometimes reaches more than 20°C. The maxima are reached during the day, and are usually around 25°C, but on rare occasions exceed 30°C. The lower limit of daytime temperatures tends to be around 20°C.

Airport

The city has one national airport, Alberto Carnevali Airport, which is embedded in the center of the city, and offers connections to the principal cities of the western Venezuela, such as Maracaibo and Caracas. Furthermore, this airport is one of the most active in the country, with more than 20 daily flights to and from Caracas alone. Other nearby airports, such as Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso in El Vigía, also serve Mérida.

The airport was built in 1956, on the former grounds of a slaughterhouse. Commercial air service is currently provided by two airlines. There is also an area for private aviation, which receives various types of private flights as well as air ambulance flights, and the delivery of parcels and other valuables.

Road network

Mérida has four large internal roadways, which run from one end of the city to the other, and five smaller roadways. The largest is the combination of the Andrés Bello and Urdaneta avenues. With a length of more than 8 km, it runs from the neighborhoods of the central quarter of Mérida to the outskirts of Ejido. The other three correspond to Las Américas and Alberto Carnevali avenues; 16 de septiembre and Tulio Febres Cordero avenues; and the corridor of Los Próceres avenue.

Two national highways connect Mérida with other cities in Venezuela. The first is Troncal 7 or the Trans-Andes Highway, which runs to the city of Valera. This highway crosses the Andes by way of the valley of the Chama River, and, arriving at the region of Apartaderos, is crossed by Local 1. Finally, following the course of the Santo Domingo River, it arrives at the city of Barinas. The other national highway is the so-called Carretera La Variante. Upon arriving at the Estanques region it becomes Local 8 or Autopista Rafael Caldera. La Variante connects Mérida with El Vigía, and in turn, with the Pan-American Highway, thereby giving the city a connection with Colombia and with other impotant destinations, such as San Cristóbal and Maracaibo.

In addition to the national highways, three alternative routes exit the city of Mérida. The first, called the Vía del Valle (Valley Road) links the city with the north, to various communities in the valley of the Culata, in the municipality of Santos Marquina. The second is an alternative route to the city of Ejido and other communities such as Jají and La Azulita; it is also a tourism route, with various lookout points facing Mérida in its initial section. A third minor route, used exclusively by rural vehicles, connects the city with the community of Los Nevados and with the Sierra Nevada National Park.

Regional transport

The only regional public transit available in Mérida is by bus. These depart from the city bus station. In addition, there are other private terminals from which private lines depart. From the central station one can take buses to destinations within the state, the region, and the rest of the country. Some of the most heavily used routes in the country start from this station, in particular, those that link Mérida with the city of Caracas. Though Venezuela is undertaking the construction of a national railway system, the IAFE, in order to link together the country, the city of Mérida is not projected to be a stop on this system: the nearest stop will be the city of El Vigía, some 60 km away.