The Ventuari River is the largest

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the Orinoco in southern

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. The Ventuari flows from south-central Venezuela in the

Guiana Highlands The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

southwest into the Orinoco River. It is long and its major tributary is the Manapiare River. The river drains the Guayanan Highlands moist forests ecoregion. The Ventuari River is the largest clearwater tributary of the Orinoco. , 470 fish species were known from the river, including several endemics, and a few new species have been described from the river since then.

References

* Hitchcock, Charles B. ''La región Orinoco Ventuari''. Relato de la Expedición Phelps al Cerro Yaví. Caracas: Ministerio de Educación Nacional, Imprenta El Compás, 1984 (Translated from an older English Edition: ''The Orinoco - Ventuari Region''. American Geographical Society, 1947). * Koch-Grünberg, Theodor. ''Vom Roraima zum Orinoco''. 1917. Reissued by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, 2009; . Rivers of Venezuela Orinoco basin {{Venezuela-river-stub