[1][2] The basin is characterized by a large shallow tidal estuary, Lake Maracaibo, located near its center.

The Maracaibo basin has a complex tectonic history that dates back to the Jurassic period with multiple evolution stages.

The Maracaibo basin is surrounded by two mountain ranges, the Méridas Andes to the southeast and the Sierra de Perija to the west, with the Gulf of Venezuela to the north.

The basin lies within a region of deformation created by the interactions of the Caribbean and South American Plate boundaries.

These strike-slip zones create a v-shape around the basin which form a smaller plate known as the Maracaibo block.

[4] After rifting, the northern edge of the South American Plate developed into a passive margin with the Proto-Caribbean Seaway.

This stable passive margin allowed for thermal subsidence to occur which began to increase due to the building up of the Cordillera Central range of Colombia.

Foreland basins formed across the region which received large amount of sediment due to the plate boundary interactions to the north.

Uplift of the Sierra de Perijas occurred during the Oligocene whereas the Mérida Andes formed later in the middle Miocene.

The Maracaibo syncline formed later in this stage due to "inversion of Eocene rift-related structures".

Characterized by carbonate and shale, the stable passive margin allowed for large amounts of clastic sediment to deposit and stay undisturbed until burial.

There is an abrupt change in sediment type of the late Cretaceous made evident by the thickly deposited, pelagic shale of the Colon formation.

The nearby islands of Aruba and Curaçao also host large refineries that process oil from the Maracaibo basin.