Canaima National Park
Encyclopedia
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
that borders Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
. It is located in Bolívar State, and roughly occupies the same area as the Gran Sabana
La Gran Sabana
The Gran Sabana is an important natural attraction in Venezuela, located in the south of Bolívar State on the Venezuelan-Brazilian border, approximately 1,400 km from Caracas. The area has a tropical humid climate with an average temperature of 28 °C, but at night it can go down to 13 °C...
region.
The park was established on the 12 June 1962. It is the second largest park in the country, after Parima-Tapirapecó, and sixth biggest national park in the world. It is the size of Belgium or Maryland.
About 65% of the park is occupied by plateaus of rock called tepui
Tepui
A tepui , or tepuy, is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana....
s. These constitute a unique biological environment, also of a great geological interest. Its sheer cliffs and waterfalls (including the Angel Falls, which is the highest waterfall in the world, to 1,002 m) are spectacular landscapes.
The most famous tepuis in the park are Mount Roraima
Monte Roraima
Mount Roraima is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepui plateau in South America. First described by the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in 1596, its summit area is defended by 400-metre-tall cliffs on all sides...
, the tallest and easiest to climb, and Auyantepui
Auyantepui
Auyantepui, also Auyantepuy, Auyan-Tepui, or Aiyan-Tepui, is a tepui plateau in the Gran Sabana region of the Bolivar State in Venezuela. It is one of the largest tepuis in the Guiana Highlands, with an area of .Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world, drops from a cleft near the summit...
, from which fall the Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world. The tepuis are sandstone and date back to a time when South America and Africa were part of a super-continent.
The park is home to indigenous Pemon Indians, part of the Carib
Carib language
Carib, also known as Caribe, Cariña, Galibi, Galibí, Kali'na, Kalihna, Kalinya, Galibi Carib, Maraworno and Marworno, is an Amerindian language in the Cariban language family....
linguistic group. The Pemon have an intimate relationship with the Tepui
Tepui
A tepui , or tepuy, is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana....
s, and believe they are the home of the 'Mawari' spirits. The park is relatively remote, with only a few roads connecting towns. Most transport within the park is done by light plane from the airstrips built by various Capuchin missions, or by foot and canoe. Pemons have developed some basic and luxurious camps, which are mainly visited by tourists from across the world.
In 1994 the Canaima National Park was named a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, as a natural reserve that has abrupt relief special and unique around the world, the tepui
Tepui
A tepui , or tepuy, is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana....
s, which are a kind of plateau of millions of years old, with vertical walls and almost flat tops.
Fauna
Canaima has a varied fauna, which is distributed throughout the park according to multiple environmental factors such as altitude and vegetation type. Among the species found are:- Giant ArmadilloGiant ArmadilloThe giant armadillo , colloquially tatou, ocarro, tatu-canastra or tatú carreta, is the largest living species of armadillo...
(Priodontes maximus) - Giant OtterGiant OtterThe giant otter is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the Mustelidae, or weasel family, a globally successful group of predators. Unusually for a mustelid, the giant otter is a social species, with family groups typically supporting three to eight members...
(Pteronura brasiliensis) - Giant AnteaterGiant AnteaterThe Giant Anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, is the largest species of anteater. It is the only species in the genus Myrmecophaga. It is found in Central and South America from Honduras to northern Argentina...
(Myrmecophaga tridactyla) - Cougar (Puma concolor)
- JaguarJaguarThe jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
(Panthera onca) - Linnaeus's Two-toed SlothLinnaeus's Two-toed SlothLinnaeus's two-toed sloth , also known as the Southern two-toed sloth or unau, is a species of sloth from South America, found in Venezuela, the Guyanas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil north of the Amazon River....
(Choloepus didactylus) - White-faced SakiWhite-faced SakiThe white-faced saki , also known as the Guianan saki and the golden-faced saki, is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey, found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, and Timbuktu...
(Pithecia pithecia) - Brown-backed Bearded SakiBrown-backed Bearded SakiThe Brown-backed bearded saki, Chiropotes israelita, is a species of bearded saki, a type of New World monkey. It is endemic to the Amazon in north-western Brazil and southern Venezuela. It is possible the correct scientific name for this species is C...
(Chiropotes israelita) - Roraima MouseRoraima MouseThe Roraima Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is the only species in the genus Podoxymys.It is found only in Guyana.-References:...
(Podoxymys roraimae) - Tyleria Mouse OpossumTyleria Mouse OpossumTyleria Mouse Opossum is a South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae. Its range includes the Guayanan Highland tepuis of Venezuela....
(Marmosa tyleriana) - Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)
- Red-shouldered MacawRed-shouldered MacawThe Red-shouldered Macaw is the smallest macaw being 30–35 centimetres in length. It is a parrot native to the tropical lowlands, savannah, and swamplands of Venezuela, the Guianas, Bolivia, Brazil, and far south-eastern Peru...
(Diopsittaca nobilis) - Dusky ParrotDusky ParrotThe Dusky Parrot or Dusky Pionus is a medium sized mainly dark brownish-gray parrot of the Pionus genus in the true parrot family....
(Pionus fuscus) - Yellow-banded Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates leucomelas)
- Green IguanaGreen IguanaThe Green Iguana or Common Iguana is a large, arboreal herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana native to Central and South America...
(Iguana iguana) - HummingbirdHummingbirdHummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s (Trochilinae) - ToucanToucanToucans are members of the family Ramphastidae of near passerine birds from the Neotropics. The family is most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and about forty different species...
s (Ramphastidae). - South American BushmasterLachesis mutaLachesis muta is a venomous pitviper species found in South America. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.-Description:...
(Lachesis muta)
Flora
There are over 300 species endemic only in La Gran SabanaLa Gran Sabana
The Gran Sabana is an important natural attraction in Venezuela, located in the south of Bolívar State on the Venezuelan-Brazilian border, approximately 1,400 km from Caracas. The area has a tropical humid climate with an average temperature of 28 °C, but at night it can go down to 13 °C...
.
- Endemic genera: AchnopogonAchnopogonAchnopogon is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family....
, ChimantaeaChimantaeaChimantaea is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family....
, QuelchiaQuelchiaQuelchia is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family....
, Tepuia, Mallophyton, Adenanthe.
- Abundant insectivorous species from the genera: BromeliaBromeliaBromelia is a genus of the botanical family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae. Bromelia species are characterized by flowers with a deeply cleft calyx. The genus is named after the Swedish medical doctor and botanist Olaf Bromelius .-Species:* Bromelia agavifolia Brongniart ex Houllet*...
, Drosera, HeliamphoraHeliamphoraThe genus Heliamphora contains 23 species of pitcher plants endemic to South America. The species are collectively known as sun pitchers, based on the mistaken notion that the heli of Heliamphora is from the Greek helios, meaning "sun"...
, Utricularia.
Hydrography
The park includes the entire watershed of the right bank of the Caroní RiverCaroní River
The Caroni River is the second most important river of Venezuela, the second in flow, and one of the longest, 952 km from the Tepui Kuquenan, where she originates with the same name Kuquenan, up to its confluence with the River Orinoco to which basin she belongs...
, and two of the highest waterfalls in the world, the Angel Falls and the Kukenán and plenty of waterfalls of lower altitude.
Relief
The only form of relief are the tepuies, that are plateaus which are unique features, among which are its vertical and nearly flat tops, although there are several tepuies that do not meet these rules. Geologically are remnants of a sedimentary cover composed of very ancient sandstone that is superimposed on a base of igneous rocks (mainly granite) that is even older (nearly 3000 million years). On its summit is home to a very substantial amount of very specific endemic species, both plant and animal. Some endemic plant species are categorized as "carnivorous", which are thus the food supply (mainly insects) that are so scarce in the mountains. These have a geological formations ranging between 1500 and 2000 million years, which makes them one of the oldest formations in the world. The best known tepuies are: the Auyantepuy (where it follows the Angel Falls), the Roraima, the Kukenan and the Chimantá among many others.Western Sector
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Caroní River The Caroni River is the second most important river of Venezuela, the second in flow, and one of the longest, 952 km from the Tepui Kuquenan, where she originates with the same name Kuquenan, up to its confluence with the River Orinoco to which basin she belongs... |
Eastern Sector
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External links
- UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre
- Official UNESCO website entry
- Video from Canaima National Park
- Canaima National Park
- Protected Planet Page for Canaima