Lake Maracaibo is a breathtaking sight to see if you are travelling in Venezuela. It is the biggest natural lake in South America covering about 13,280 square kilometers. Despite its size, it is very shallow for a lake its size and only gets deeper towards the southern part of the lake. In addition, the waters in the southern parts of the lake are freshwater, but because of the strong tidal pull, the north part of the river has brackish water. Many major rivers flow through Lake Maracaibo which makes it an essential part of the economy in Venezuela. For example, there is the Catatumbo River which is one of the more major rivers that cut through Lake Maracaibo to transport goods. For many years Lake Maracaibo could not be used for transportation of goods because there was a sandbar that prevented ships and tankers from passing through, but in 1957 the sandbar was excavated so that transportation of goods (which was crucial) was possible. In addition to being a transportation route, the lake is one of the biggest sources of petroleum in the world supplying ⅔ of Venezuela’s Petroleum output.