The Tumuk Humak Mountains ( nl, Toemoek-Hoemakgebergte, pt, Serra do Tumucumaque, french: Monts Tumuc Humac) are a mountain range 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 sout ...
, stretching about east–west in the border area between
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in the south and
Suriname and
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
in the north. In the language of the
Apalam and
Wayana
The Wayana (alternate names: Ajana, Uaiana, Alucuyana, Guaque, Ojana, Oyana, Orcocoyana, Pirixi, Urukuena, Waiano etc.) are a Carib-speaking people located in the southeastern part of the Guiana highlands, a region divided between Brazil, Suri ...
peoples, ''Tumucumaque'' means "the mountain rock symbolizing the struggle between the shaman and the spirits". The range is very remote and almost inaccessible.
Both the
Maroni and
Oyapock
The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the French overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian state of Amapá.
Course
The Oyapock runs through the Guianan moist fores ...
rivers originate in the Tumuk Humak Mountains. The Maroni ( nl, Marowijne) forms the entire (disputed) border between Suriname and French Guiana, and the Oyapock ( pt, Oiapoque) most of the border between French Guiana and Brazil.
The Tumuk Humak Mountains are part of the Tumucumaque Uplands of the
Guiana Shield. They are geographically important because they form the divide between the biogeographical system of the
Amazon Basin and that of the Atlantic coastal area of the Guianas. The Tumuk Humak plateau is covered primarily with lowland and plateau forests.
Brazil's
Tumucumaque Mountains National Park
The Tumucumaque Mountains National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional Montanhas do Tumucumaque; ) is situated in the Amazon Rainforest in the Brazilian states of Amapá and Pará. It is bordered to the north by French Guiana and Suriname.
History
Tum ...
is named after the Tumuk Humak Mountains and covers that country's section of the mountain range, in the
states of
Pará
Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...
and
Amapá. Created in 2002, it is Brazil's largest national park and the world's largest protected tropical forest. The highest point in the state of Amapá is located there, reaching 701 meters (2,300 ft).
Portal Brasil
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The French film '' Tumuc Humac'' (1970), directed by Jean-Marie Périer, was named after the mountain range.
Sources
* Bruijning, CFA en J. Voorhoeve (eds.): Encyclopedie van Suriname. Amsterdam and Brussels 1977
The Guiana Shield Initiative
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of Brazil
Mountain ranges of Suriname
Mountain ranges of French Guiana
Highest points of Brazilian states
Landforms of Amapá