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Mount Roraima ( es, Monte Roraima; Tepuy Roraima; Cerro Roraima pt, Monte Roraima ) is the highest of the
Pakaraima The Pacaraima or Pakaraima Mountains ( pt, Serra de Pacaraima, es, Sierra de Pacaraima) are a mountain range primarily in southwestern Guyana, and into northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela. Geography The range extends from west to east for over ...
chain of
tepui A tepui , or tepuy (), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gra ...
s (table-top mountain) or
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
x in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
. It is located at the junction of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. A characteristic large flat-topped mountain surrounded by cliffs 400 to 1,000 meters high. The highest point of Mount Roraima is located on the southern edge of the cliff at an altitude of 2,810 meters in Venezuela, and another protrusion at an altitude of 2,772 meters at the junction of the three countries in the north of the plateau is the highest point in Guyana. The name of Mount Roraima came from the native Pemon people. ''Roroi'' in the Pemon language means "blue-green", and ''ma'' means "great". Leaching caused by intense rainfall has shaped the peculiar topography of the summit, and the geographical isolation of Mount Roraima has made it home to much endemic flora and fauna. Western exploration of Mount Roraima did not begin until the 19th century, when it was first climbed by a British expedition in 1884. Yet despite subsequent expeditions, its flora and geology remain largely unknown. The privileged setting and relatively easy access and climbing conditions on the south side of the cliffs make Mount Roraima one of the most popular destinations for hikers.


Geography

Mount Roraima is located in the northern part of South America, the Pacarema Mountains in the eastern part of the Guyana Plateau, Brazil in the east accounting for 5% of its area, Guyana in the north accounting for 10%, and Venezuela in the south and west accounting for 85%. Access to Mount Roraima from the Venezuelan side is close to the road and relatively easy; however, for both Brazil and Guyana the area is completely isolated and can only be reached by a few days of forest hikes or small local airstrip. Mount Roraima is a flat-topped mountain, typical of the Guyana Shield, with an elevation of about 1,200 meters in the southeast and only about 600 meters in the northwest. The south, southeast, east, northeast and northwest faces are all formed by straight cliffs up to about 1,000 meters high. At the southern end of the mountain, part of the cliff has collapsed, forming a spectacular natural boulder. The base of the cliff is surrounded by steep slopes to the south and east, and the north and west sides form river valleys leading to the summit. The top of Mount Roraima has a length of more than 10 kilometers, a maximum width of 5 kilometers, an area of ​​about 33 to 50 square kilometers, an altitude of more than 2200 meters, and an average altitude of 2600–2700 meters. The plateau is a pseudo-karst surface etched by heavy rainfall. The highest point is 2810 meters above sea level, located at the southern end of the plateau and the highest point in the state of Bolivar, 8.25 kilometers north of the summit is another high point with an altitude of 2,772 meters, which is the highest point in Guyana. In the northern part of the plateau is the landmark of the border between Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana, with an altitude of 2734 meters. Due to its high altitude and proximity to the equator, Mount Roraima has a constant average annual temperature between 20 and 22 °C and annual rainfall of more than 1,500 mm, with 1,800 to 3,000 mm in parts of the rainy season from April to November. The climatic conditions at the top of the mountain differ significantly from its base, the high cloudiness in the region is associated with the prevailing northeasterly and southeasterly winds, and the relative humidity of the air remains between 75% and 85%.


Geology

Mount Roraima is composed of
Proterozoic The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided i ...
age
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
formed about 1.7 to 2 billion years ago, and hence amongst the oldest rocks on Earth and contains a large amount of quartz deposits, 98% are silica particles, forming white or pink crystals several centimeters long. These rocks sit on a
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...
and
gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...
base and were originally covered by layers of
Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
clay, conglomerate, and
diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-sil ...
, but have been exposed by erosion and by orogeny over the past 180 million years, eroded by precipitation to form strange shapes. The soil of the sandstone matrix is highly acidic, poor in nutrients, and very fine. Intense rainfall prevents the fixation of nutrients and particles, thereby preventing the formation of hilltop vegetation and soil. The numerous caves and rifts in the interior of the plateau make Mount Roraima exhibit a pseudokarst structure, and these caves form a network over 15 kilometers long with a total height difference of 73.21 meters, It is the largest quartz cave in the world. These caves are formed by the infiltration of surface water, so the water level inside them depends largely on the precipitation on the surface of the plateau: prolonged drought can dry up waterways, and dry caves can also become underground rivers. The water that poured into it rushed into the crevices of the rock and flowed out in the form of waterfalls on the mountainside, creating many streams at the foot of the mountain.


Ecology

Due to the late exploration of this part of South America and the discovery of new species every year, the flora and fauna here are largely unknown. The currently identified species are strongly endemic, especially the fauna, which also puts them at a high risk of extinction. The bottom of the cliff at the foot of the mountain is an evergreen rainforest composed of trees 25 to 45 meters high, and some can reach 60 meters. Vegetation is dominated by
Arecaceae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...
and Astragalus. The soils on the cliffs are more sandy, the climate is cooler, and the vegetation consists of bromeliads very similar to the Andes. The vegetation on the plateau is still largely unknown and consists mainly of bare rocks, forests of trees and epiphytes , and wet and dry savannas in the form of swamps. It is marked by numerous endemic species, especially carnivorous plants that capture insects and find them there in sandstone and leaching soils without the nitrates necessary for their development. There are fewer species in the vicinity of streams and ravines, and the trees are 8 to 15 meters tall and have hard leaves that can adapt to harsh environmental conditions. The exposed rocks are occupied by lichens, algae and cyanobacteria. The fauna at the foot of the mountain is composed of a variety of mammals, and this huge diversity is particularly prominent in the Amazon rainforest, such as sloths, anteaters, tapirs, armadillos, capybaras, possums, agouti, prairie fox, weasels, raccoons, deer, cougars, and primates such as howler monkeys and capuchins. There are hundreds of species of birds, the most common of which are falcons, parrots, owls, etc. Some hummingbirds are endemic to the region. Due to low mobility relative to other species, reptiles and amphibians show large differences between individuals found at the bottom and top of Mount Roraima. While species inhabiting forests at the foot of the plateau are common, such as green iguanas, pit vipers, coral snakes and pythons, those found at the top are even rarer. Cave fauna consists of many species of bats, grasshoppers, spiders and centipedes, but this fragile subterranean ecosystem is being disturbed by surface hikers, organic matter produced by tourists and explorers over the years. Pollutants such as fuel are washed into the ground by rainwater, which leads to the proliferation of microorganisms and causes ecological imbalance.


Exploration

European discovery was in 1595, during a Spanish and British race to colonize this part of South America, although Mount Roraima had been inhabited by Amerindians for at least 10,000 years. The English poet, army officer and explorer
Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebelli ...
described it as an immeasurable "Crystal Mountain" gushing out of countless waterfalls. The first expedition to Mount Roraima took place in 1838, when German scientist and explorer Robert Hermann Schomburgk observed it during a Royal Geographical Society-funded expedition to explore British Guiana (1835-39). In 1840, the British government commissioned him to establish the boundaries between British Guiana and Venezuela. When he returned to the area in 1844 to study the local flora, he reported that the peak seemed inaccessible due to its towering cliffs. In 1864, German naturalist and botanist Carl Ferdinand Appun and British geologist Charles Barrington Brown arrived at the southeastern tip of Mount Roraima for observation and proposed to go up the mountain by hot air balloon. Although its vertical cliffs make access very difficult, Mount Roraima was the first large mesa to be climbed in the Guyana Plateau. Henry Whiteley, who studied the birds of the area, observed that the summit could be reached from the south with the help of ropes and ladders.
Everard im Thurn Sir Everard Ferdinand im Thurn (9 May 1852 – 9 October 1932) was an author, explorer, botanist, photographer and British colonial administrator. He was Governor of Fiji in the years 1904–1910. Life Im Thurn was born in Camberwell, Londo ...
and Harry Perkins led an expedition sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society that culminated on December 18, 1884, when the team found even a local Aboriginal Pemon. Passages unknown to man, they indicate that the top of the cliff has been unknown since the dawn of man. Soon, many expeditions made up of botanists, zoologists and geologists made multiple expeditions to Mount Roraima to study the mostly unknown flora and fauna and special geological conditions of the area.


Climbing

Mount Roraima and Mount Aoyan are the only flat-topped mountains in the
Canaima National Park Canaima National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Canaima) is a park in south-eastern Venezuela that roughly occupies the same area as the Gran Sabana region. It is located in Bolívar State, reaching the borders with Brazil and Guyana. History Ca ...
that can be climbed by hikers, with a monthly quota of 200 people. Its ascent takes three to five days in total, the summit route is on a natural slope on the southwestern cliffs of Mount Roraima, it does not require any special equipment or training, so it is chosen by almost all hikers, the only difficulty is that some streams and small waterfalls may become difficult to pass under heavy rain. However, the length of the trail requires climbers to spend one night at the base camp at the foot of the cliff at an altitude of about 2,000 meters, and another night at the summit, taking several days to explore the plateau and two days to descend. The best time to climb Mount Roraima is in the dry season, however, when the sun is very strong and the temperature is high, it can make the road to the mountain difficult.


Gallery

File:Abismo com fim.jpg, The cliffs of Mount Roraima File:Triple Point, Mount Roraima.jpg, Tripoint marker on Mount Roraima, taken from the Venezuelan side File: Mount Roraima, Venezuela (12371474504).jpg, The Roraima Falls File:Panorámica del Tepuy Roraima.jpg, Mount Roraima and the falls as seen from the Venezuela side File:BritGY p149 - RORAIMA.jpg, An illustration of Mount Roraima in ''Canoe and Camp Life in British Guiana'', 1876


Notes


References


Further reading

* Aubrecht, R., T. Lánczos, M. Gregor, J. Schlögl, B. Šmída, P. Liščák, C. Brewer-Carías & L. Vlček (15 September 2011). Sandstone caves on Venezuelan tepuis: return to pseudokarst? ''Geomorphology'' 132(3–4): 351–365. * Aubrecht, R., T. Lánczos, M. Gregor, J. Schlögl, B. Šmída, P. Liščák, C. Brewer-Carías & L. Vlček (2013). Reply to the comment on "Sandstone caves on Venezuelan tepuis: return to pseudokarst?". ''Geomorphology'', published online on 30 November 2012. * Brewer-Carías, C. (2012). ''Río Verde'' 8: 77–94. * Jaffe, K., J. Lattke & R. Perez-Hernández (January–June 1993)
Ants on the tepuies of the Guiana Shield: a zoogeographic study.
''Ecotropicos'' 6(1): 21–28. * Kok, P.J.R., R.D. MacCulloch, D.B. Means, K. Roelants, I. Van Bocxlaer & F. Bossuyt (7 August 2012). ''Current Biology'' 22(15): R589–R590. [] * MacCulloch, R.D., A. Lathrop, R.P. Reynolds, J.C. Senaris and G.E. Schneider. (2007). Herpetofauna of Mount Roraima, Guiana Shield region, northeastern South America. Herpetological Review 38: 24-30. * Sauro, F., L. Piccini, M. Mecchia & J. De Waele (2013). Comment on "Sandstone caves on Venezuelan tepuis: return to pseudokarst?" by R. Aubrecht, T. Lánczos, M. Gregor, J. Schlögl, B. Smída, P. Liscák, Ch. Brewer-Carías, L. Vlcek, Geomorphology 132 (2011), 351–365. ''Geomorphology'', published online on 29 November 2012. *Warren, A. (1973). Roraima: report of the 1970 British expedition to Mount Roraima in Guyana, South America. Seacourt Press, Oxford UK, 152 pp. * Zahl, Paul, A. (1940) To the Lost World. George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. 182 High Holborn, London, W.C.1


External links


Mount Roraima Information

Mount Roraima on SummitPost.org


* ttps://vimeo.com/15300288 ''Dias de Tempestade (Days of Storm)''- 28-minute short documentary on Vimeo (in Portuguese, with English subtitles) showing the 2010 climb of Mount Roraima from the Guyana side by Brazilian climber Eliseu Frechou and his team.
Mount Roraima Guide

Mount Roraima Information 2022
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roraima Mount Roraima Tepuis of Brazil Tepuis of Guyana Tepuis of Venezuela Mount Roraima International mountains of South America Highest points of Brazilian states Highest points of countries Mount Roraima Mount Roraima Mount Roraima Mount Roraima Mount Roraima Climbing areas of Venezuela Climbing areas of Brazil