Editing Geography of Venezuela (section)

== Historical Geography ==
[[File:Service-pnp-det-4a00000-4a05000-4a05700-4a05706r.jpg|thumb|''Venezuelan Horseman,'' a photograph taken anywhere in between the years 1901-1906.<ref name=":7"/> The photograph was published through [[Detroit Publishing Company]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Avilés |first=Giselle M. |title=Research Guides: Venezuela: Hispanic Reading Room Country Guide: Introduction |url=https://guides.loc.gov/venezuela-country-guide/introduction |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=guides.loc.gov |language=en}}</ref>]]
"Frank Radcliffe; a Story of Travel and Adventure in the Forests of Venezuela" was written by a Christian man named Achilles Daunt.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Daunt |first=Achilles |url=http://archive.org/details/frankradcliffest1884daun |title=Frank Radcliffe; a story of travel and adventure in the forests of Venezuela |date=1884 |publisher=London, New York, T. Nelson |others=Brown University Library}}</ref> The Travelogue was published in 1884 and comprised a total of 432 pages depicting a foreigner's journey through the Venezuelan landscape.<ref name=":8" /> This is a great primary resource that lets historians observe, through intense descriptions, Venezuela prior to [[Industrialisation|industrialization]]. Examples of exports of Venezuela from this time are mentioned as sugar cane and coffee.<ref name=":8" /> Both exports throughout history have phased out of production. Since the early 1900s Venezuela has relied on oil as its main export.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Venezuela Trade {{!}} WITS {{!}} Text |url=https://wits.worldbank.org/CountrySnapshot/en/VEN/textview |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=wits.worldbank.org}}</ref> As of 2013, raw materials make up 85.47% of Venezuela's total exports.<ref name=":9" /> This reliance on raw materials being the main exports was also described in the writing. The description of geography heavily ranges as Daunt travels through Venezuela. The landscape can range from mountainous, to heavy tropics, and even dry, flat lands.<ref name=":8" /> The natural water from the many different rivers within Venezuela led to lush forests that supported and facilitated wildlife.<ref name=":9" /> Daunt talks about flat mountainous structures that lead to a harsh drop.<ref name=":8" /> This was in reference to the many [[plateau]]s in Venezuela like the ones that can be found [[Canaima National Park]].<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=2021-07-13 |title=Venezuela's Flat-Topped Mountains |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148520/venezuelas-flat-topped-mountains |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov |language=en}}</ref> The Canaima National Park spans more than 30,000 square kilometers.<ref name=":10" /> This makes it one of the largest parks in Venezuela and a popular tourist site.<ref name=":10" /> The river of Guaire is a hub of tropical life in Venezuela. The riverbanks were covered in large hedges of wild plants that sometimes rose to 30 feet.<ref name=":8" /> This travelogue provides empirical observations of land, geography, and wildlife during the late 1800s. It also shows interactions with natives of this land and the everlasting road to recovery from [[colonialism]].<ref name=":8" />

Photographs are great examples of empirical primary sources. They can be observed and help tell historians information that may not be discernible through writing or other forms of media. Looking at the ''Venezuelan Horseman'' we see a man dressed fairly well riding on a horse.<ref name=":7" /> In the background we see lush tropical plants that hold resemblance to a [[Musa (genus)|Musa]] plant.<ref name=":7" /> Other plants sporadically grow and combine with other plants to form large hedges of intertwined green.<ref name=":7" /> Within the photograph one can see the same information and descriptives that Daunt discusses when traveling through Venezuela.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":7" />