Mérida (state) in the context of Ejido, Mérida

Mérida, officially known as Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the main cities of the Venezuelan Andes. It was founded in 1558 by Captain Juan Rodríguez Suárez, 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.

The capital city's population is 199,878 inhabitants, and the metropolitan area (including the municipalities of Libertador, Campo Elías, Sucre, and Santos Marquina) reaches 392,751 people (2011 census). The city accounts for 24% of the total population of Mérida State. It is home to the University of Los Andes and the Archdiocese of Mérida. It also has the highest and longest cable car in the world. It is the largest student and tourist center of western Venezuela. The mass transit system (Trolebús Mérida) is available as a means of tourist transport.

The Libertador Municipality is one of the 23 municipalities (municipios) that makes up the Venezuelan state of Mérida and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 232,011. The city of Mérida is the shire town of the Libertador Municipality. The municipality is one of a number in Venezuela named "Libertador Municipality", in honour of Venezuelan independence hero Simón Bolívar.

The Campo Elías Municipality is one of the 23 municipalities (municipios) that makes up the Venezuelan state of Mérida and according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 100,192. The town of Ejido is the shire town of the Campo Elías Municipality.

Sucre Municipality is one of the 23 municipalities (municipios) that makes up the Venezuelan state of Mérida and, according to the 2011 census by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 24,509. Lagunillas is the municipal seat of the Sucre Municipality.

Lake Maracaibo (Spanish: Lago de Maracaibo) is located in northwestern Venezuela, between the states of Zulia, Trujillo, and Mérida. While Maracaibo is commonly referred to as a lake, its current hydrological characteristics may better classify it as estuary and/or semi-enclosed bay connected to the Gulf of Venezuela. With a surface area of 13,512 km (5,217 sq mi), if counted as a lake it would be the largest in South America, ahead of Lake Titicaca, as well as one of the oldest lakes on Earth, having formed 36 million years ago in the Andes Mountains.

The lake consists of brackish water, and is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela to the north by a narrow strait. It is fed by numerous rivers, the biggest being the Catatumbo River. The fault in the northern section has collapsed and is rich in oil and gas resources. It is Venezuela's main oil producing area and an important fishing and agricultural producing area. Eutrophication caused by oil pollution is a major environmental problem facing the lagoon. The area around the lagoon is inhabited by a quarter of the country's population and is also the place with the most frequent lightning on Earth. The famous Catatumbo lightning can illuminate nighttime navigation.

The Cordillera de Mérida is a mountain range, or massif, in northwestern Venezuela. The Cordillera de Mérida is a northeastern extension of the Andes Mountains and the most important branch of the Venezuelan Andes. The range runs approximately 400 kilometers, from the Venezuela-Colombia border in the southwest to the Venezuelan Coastal Complex in the northeast. The Táchira depression separates the Cordillera de Mérida from the Cordillera Oriental, which forms the Colombia-Venezuela border.

The range spans about 40,000 square kilometers, covering most of Táchira, Mérida, and Trujillo states, and parts of Lara, Barinas, Portuguesa, Apure and Zulia states. The southeastern slopes are drained by tributaries of the Orinoco River, while the streams that drain the northwestern slopes empty into Lake Maracaibo. At the southwestern end of the range lies the city of San Cristóbal, while at the northeast tip lies the city of Barquisimeto and the headwaters of the River Cojedes.In the centre of the range is the city of Mérida, its namesake. Two subsidiary ranges of peaks lie on either side of the city: the Sierra de la Culata to the north and Sierra Nevada de Mérida to the south. Pico Bolívar, at 4,981 meters elevation (16,342 feet), is the highest peak in Venezuela.

The Andean Region (Spanish: Región de los Andes) is one of the nine administrative regions of Venezuela. It comprises the states of Barinas, Mérida, Táchira, and Trujillo, as well as the Páez Municipality in Apure.

This region borders the Zulian Region to the northwest, the Central-Western Region to the north, the Central Region to the northeast, and the Llanos Region to the east. It also shares an international border with Colombia to the south and west.