Pacaraima Mountains

The Pacaraima or Pakaraima Mountains (Portuguese: Serra Pacaraima, Spanish: Sierra Pacaraima) are a mountain range primarily in southwestern Guyana, and into northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela.

Geography

Mount Roraima, a tepui of the Pacaraima Mountains.

The range extends from west to east for over 800 kilometres (500 mi). Its highest peak is Mount Roraima at 2,810 metres (9,220 ft) above sea level, a tepui surrounded by cliffs 300 metres (980 ft) high.

It is geologically part of the Guayana Shield and biogeographically part of the Guayana Highlands.

The mountains form the divide between the Orinoco Valley to the north and the Amazon Basin to the south. They also serve as a natural boundary in the east-west direction, where they extend 800 kilometres (500 mi) to form a border marker between Brazil and southeastern Venezuela and between Brazil and west central Guyana.[1]

Kaieteur Falls

Numerous rivers originate in these mountains and on their way down they plunge spectacularly to form some picturesque waterfalls. A beautiful example of this is the Kaieteur Falls in Guyana.

Conservation

The 116,748 hectares (288,490 acres) Monte Roraima National Park protects part of the range in Roraima, Brazil.[2]

See also

  • Guayana Highlands topics
  • Mountain ranges of Guyana

References

  1. ↑ "Pacaraima Mountains". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Unidade de Conservação: Parque Nacional do Monte Roraima (in Portuguese), MMA: Ministério do Meio Ambiente, retrieved 2016-06-07

Coordinates: 5°00′N 61°00′W / 5.000°N 61.000°W / 5.000; -61.000

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