THE GUIANA HIGHLAND.—Lastly, there is the savanna region to the south of the Orinoco, on the Guiana Highland, from which the chief export at present is rubber. Balata is obtained from the so-called Bullet tree (Mimusops balata), which grows in the valleys of the Orinoco and its tributaries, and forms the bulk of its exports.
MINERALS.—The mineral wealth of the country is but vaguely known. Gold occurs in many places but seems only to be worked in the territory of Yuruari, in the Guiana Highland. Iron is found in the Cordillera, but the most important deposits are believed to be near the confluence of the Imataca River and the Orinoco, where it is said that inexhaustible quantities of magnetic ore of high grade occur within reach of deep water. Coal of a lignitic character is reported from a number of places along the Caribbean coast and elsewhere, but the deposits do not seem to possess much value except, perhaps, in the neighbourhood of the Gulf of Maracaibo, where the Coro mines are worked, mainly for the benefit of the Government.
COMMUNICATIONS.—The communications of the country are very poor, partly as a result of its generally backward condition, and partly because of the serious physical obstacles which exist. There are not 600 miles of railway in the state, and their small importance may be illustrated by the fact that in 1910 their total earnings did not exceed £500,000. The chief line is that which runs from Caracas to Valencia, and connects these two towns with their respective ports—La Guaira and Puerto Cabello. In the llanos and the forest region, the Orinoco with its tributaries forms the only highway ; and of this part of the country Ciudad Bolivar, situated about 370 miles from the mouth of the river, is the principal port. For the five years 1906-10 the annual value of exports and imports averaged £5,500,000.