Maracaibo is a city and municipality in northwestern
Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects
Lake Maracaibo to the
Gulf of Venezuela. It is the second-largest city in the country (after the national capital
Caracas) and is the capital of the state of
Zulia. The population of the city is approximately 1,495,200 with the
metropolitan area estimated at 2,108,404 as of 2010. Maracaibo is nicknamed
La Tierra del Sol Amada ("The Beloved Land of the Sun").