The Orinoquía region is one of the six

natural regions of Colombia Because of its natural structure, Colombia can be divided into six distinct natural regions. These consist of the Andean Region, covering the three branches of the Andes mountains found in Colombia; the Caribbean Region, covering the area adjace ...

that belongs to the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

watershed. It is also known colloquially as the Eastern Plains from the Spanish Llanos Orientales. The region covers most of the area of the departments of

Meta Meta (from the Greek μετά, '' meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending". In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or end ...

, Arauca, Casanare and Vichada.

Biogeographical subregion

The Orinoquía region has the following subregions: * Plains Foothills: in between the East Andes and the Eastern Plains; elevations ranges between and ; mostly covered by dense tropical humid forest *

Meta River The Meta River is a major left tributary of the Orinoco River in eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela, South America. The Meta originates in the Eastern Ranges of the Andes and flows through the Meta Department, Colombia as the confluence of ...

Plain * Arauca Marshlands *

Serranía de la Macarena Serranía de la Macarena is an isolated mountain range located in the Meta Department, Colombia. It was named after the Virgin of Hope of Macarena. The mountains are separated by about at their northern extreme from the East Andes. The range ...

Biodiversity

The ecosystems of the region are

tropical savanna Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and t ...

with

gallery forest A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...

s and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

along the rivers.

Protected areas

* PNN Serranía de la Macarena * PNN El Tuparro * PNN Morichales de Paz de Ariporo

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orinoquia natural region Natural regions of Colombia Llanos