Kamarang River is a river in Guyana and Venezuela, and a part of the
Essequibo River
The Essequibo River (; originally called by Alonso de Ojeda; ) is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon River, Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana border, the Essequibo flows ...
basin.
Route
The river originates in
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
where it is called Río Camarán or Río Camurán. Its source is located right next to the Troncal 10, in the middle of the
Gran Sabana
La Gran Sabana (, ) is a region in southeastern Venezuela, part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion.
The savanna spreads into the regions of the Guiana Shield, Guiana Highlands and south-east into Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar State, extending fu ...
region. The nascent river first flows in parallel to the road in a southeasterly direction. It then passes the road a few meters after the Campamento Kamoiran. Here the river forms the Kamoiran rapids. Its course then turns more eastward for several kilometers through open Savannah. Shortly after entering the
disputed territory
A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of territories (land, water or airspace) between two or more political entities.
Context and definitions
Territorial disputes are often related to the ...
administered by
Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
, the river drops roughly 160 meters at the impressive
Kamarang falls creating a 40 meter wide water curtain.
The Kamarang River then flows through a deep forested gorge first north-, then eastbound. This area is very remote and inhabited by the
Arecuna people and rarely visited as it is difficult to access from both Guyana and Venezuela.
The river then flows east through the forest until meeting the
Mazaruni River
The Mazaruni River is a tributary of the Essequibo River in northern Guyana. Its source is in the remote western forests of the Pakaraima Mountains and its confluence with the Cuyuni River is near Bartica. As it descends from the Guiana Highland ...
at the mining village of
Kamarang.
Falls
Kamarang Great Falls, also known as Kamarang Meru, plunges off the
Pacaraima Mountains escarpment in an isolated western corner of Guyana only few kilometers from the Venezuelan border. Its height is 145 meters. By its volume Kamarang Great Falls is one of the most powerful waterfalls in the country.
The falls were reportedly discovered in 1938 by American entomologist and physician
Paul A. Zahl, who wrote that the noise created by the falling water was deafening already before the falls were visible.
See also
*
List of rivers of Guyana
This is a list of rivers in Guyana.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.
Atlantic Ocean
*''Amazon River'' (Brazil)
**''Negro River'' (Brazil)
***''Branc ...
*
List of rivers of Venezuela
This is a list of rivers in Venezuela.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.
Atlantic Ocean Amazon Basin
* ''Amazon River'' (Brazil)
** Rio Negro
*** Ca ...
References
Bibliography
*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993.
{{Rivers of Guyana
Rivers of Guyana
Rivers of Venezuela
Rivers of Bolívar (state)