The valleys of Quíbor, Barquisimeto and El Tocuyo had a relatively high population density and the peoples of the region practiced agriculture.

The Welser administration was in permanent conflict with the interests of the Spaniards, who accused them of failing to carry out the task of colonization, among other things.

In 1545, Juan de Carvajal, who lived in Coro, went with several families of colonists to the area of El Tocuyo and there he began to distribute the natives according to the encomienda system.

[citation needed] Lara's topography consist of high plains and low, broken hills, with a relatively hot and dry climate.

Among the landscapes of moderate height, the pressures of Carora, Barquisimeto and Yaracuy stand out, while the Sierra de Aroa, the Nirgua Massif and the Andean buttress present more broken reliefs.

The Barquisimeto high plateau is a privileged place for human settlement, commerce and communications, while the valley of the turbid river allows for intense agricultural use, in contrast to the aridity of the surrounding xerophytic vegetation.

[citation needed] The Lara-Falcón formation is, from the orographic point of view, the transition between the Coastal and the Andean mountain ranges.

[citation needed] It is as varied as its relief and climate, although in almost all the territory xerophilous vegetation predominates, represented by cujíes, tunas, espinares and cardonales.

[citation needed] To the south the variety ranges from scrub and bushes to evergreen forests, with woods in mountainous areas.

The dry atmosphere is typical, since evaporation exceeds precipitation, reaching until 650 mm of annual average, with rain falling at different times according to geographycal location..

[citation needed] About 60% of the land in the west of Lara State is mountainous and presents soils of slow permeability, fine texture, reddish color and commonly acid reaction.

[citation needed] To the southeast of Carora the soils are stony, without a well developed profile, variable permeability, acid reaction, fast runoff and strong erosion.

In the area corresponding to the beaches the low permeability, the flooding, the predominant clayey texture and the appreciable content of salts limit their use.

[citation needed] Main rivers: Amarillo, Auro, Aragua, Curarigua, Morere, Tocuyo, Turbio, Urama, Yacambú.

The Governor must render an annual account of his actions before the regional parliament called the Legislative Council of Lara State.

Barquisimeto's rise among others Lara, located in the commercial corridors that link the West, the Andes, the center and the east of the country, is an important receiver and distributor of foodstuffs to other regions inside and outside Venezuela (export) through the wholesale market that commercializes a third of the fresh food consumed in the country, Mercabar.

Considered since 1950 to be one of the Venezuelan cities least dependent on oil, agriculture and trade are the main economic activities in the region that contributes: 22% of coffee, 26% of sugar cane, 90% of pineapple, 31% of grapes, 54% of onions, 12% of tomatoes, 54% of paprika, 29% of cabbage, 100% of sisal and 22% of potatoes.

Important administrative and public service activities are concentrated in the state metropolis of Barquisimeto, together with all kinds of commerce, banking and financial entities, due to its strategic location on the road network in the West of the country, and with its railway connection to Puerto Cabello and Acarigua.

Various types of tourism are taking on increasing significance, with emphasis on the expansion of the rich Larense craftsmanship in places like Guadalupe and Tintorero.

The state has metallic and non-metallic minerals, especially red and white clays, silica sands, gravels, iron, mercury, pyrrhophyllites, and various types of limestone.

The rivers, reservoirs and thermal water sources such as the dams of Dos Cerritos, Yacambú, Atarigua, Arenales, and the San Miguel Volcano provide hydraulic and geothermal potential.

Around Barquisimeto and due to migration also in the city are practiced "Los Tamunangues" or devotional festivities to San Antonio de Padua, as payment of promises to favors received.

The festivity has its origins in the Andes Larenses (Sanare-El Tocuyo) and is celebrated every June 13; but a Tamunangue can be held at any time of the year.

In the state of Lara, different and varied cultural manifestations of folklore are mixed, which clearly enrich the society of the central-western part of the country.

Likewise, some of these typical folkloric manifestations that you can know are Lara State is home to several soccer, baseball, and basketball teams among other sports.

In football highlights the Deportivo Lara based in the Metropolitan Stadium one of the most modern sports facilities in this region of the country.