Tucupita () is the capital city of the

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 ...

n state of

Delta Amacuro Delta Amacuro State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela, and is the location of the Orinoco Delta. The Paria Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean are found to the north, Bolívar State (Venezuela), Bolívar State is found to th ...

Geography

Delta Amacuro consists almost entirely of the swampy

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

. Tucupita is hot and humid, and lies well into the delta on the Caño Manamo river (one of the two major branches of the Orinoco river delta). It is approached by a road which runs along the top of a barrier constructed in the 1960s to create dry land. The project is considered by many to be a failure since little dry land was created and massive ecological disruption was caused by salt water penetration of the delta. The delta is covered mostly by

mangrove swamp Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withs ...

but there is a huge range of other flora and fauna, making it one of the world's more ecologically diverse places. Significant amounts of oil have been discovered in the western parts of the delta and there is apprehension that exploitation of this oil will cause substantial ecological damage.

Climate

Tucupita has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Am''), bordering on a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

, with a short dry season from January to March.

Religion

Tucupita is the cathedral see of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Tucupita, with the Cathedral of the Divine Shepherdess.

Tourism

The main income of Tucupita comes from eco-tourism. The attractions are the birds, mammals and reptiles of the delta, and the villages of the local Indians, the Warao. Tourists can visit the remote parts of the delta and stay in the stilted houses of the Warao in the delta itself. There are bus connections to Bolivar City and other towns in the north of Venezuela, but in the delta itself only travel by boat is possible.

References

{{Authority control Cities in Delta Amacuro Populated places established in 1848

Geography

Climate

Religion

Tourism

See also

References