Canaima National Park: Difference between revisions

Canaima National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Bolívar State, Venezuela
Area	30,000 km²
Established	June 12, 1962

Canaima National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Natural: vii, viii, ix, x
Reference	701
Inscription	1994 (18th Session)

Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima) is a 30,000 km² park in south-eastern Venezuela that borders Brazil and Guyana. It is located in Bolívar State, and roughly occupies the same area as the Gran Sabana 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; has the size of Belgium or Maryland.

About 65% of the park is occupied by plateaus of rock called tepuis. 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.

Canaima Lagoon in September

Gran Sabana

Mount Roraima

Black river in the Canaima National Park

The most famous tepuis in the park are Mount Roraima, the tallest and easiest to climb, and Auyantepui, 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 linguistic group. The Pemon have an intimate relationship with the Tepuis, 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 by UNESCO, as a natural reserve that has abrupt relief special and unique around the world, the tepuis, 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 Armadillo (Priodontes maximus)
• Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)
• Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)
• Cougar (Puma concolor)
• Jaguar (Panthera onca)
• Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus didactylus)
• Widow Monkey (Pithecia pithecia)
• Orinoquia Capuchin Monkey (Chiropotes satanas)
• Endemic rodent of the Roraima tepui (Podoxymys roraimae)
• Endemic Marsupial of the tepui (Marmosa tyleriana)
• Harpy Eagle (Harpya harpija)
• Dwarf Macaw (Ara nobilis)
• Purple Parrot (Pionus fuscus)
• Miner Frog (Dendrobates leucomelas)
• Lesser Antillean Iguana (Iguana delicatissima)
• Hummingbird (Trochilinae)
• Different species of Toucan (Género Ramphastidae).
• Cuaima-Piña Viper (Lachesis muta)

Flora

There are over 300 species endemic only in La Gran Sabana.

• Endemic genera: Achnopogon, Chimantaea, Quelchia, Tepuia, Mallophyton, Adenanthe.

• Abundant insectivorous species from the genera: Bromelia, Drosera, Heliamphora, Utricularia.

Hydrography

The park includes the entire watershed of the right bank of the Caroní River, 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.

External links

Media related to Canaima National Park at Wikimedia Commons

• UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre
• Official UNESCO website entry
• Video from Canaima National Park
• Canaima National Park
• Protected Planet Page for Canaima