The Tumuk Humak Mountains (, , ) 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 considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, stretching about east–west in the border area between

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the south and

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

and

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

in the north. In the language of the Apalam and Wayana 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 rivers rise in the Tumuk Humak Mountains. The Maroni () forms the entire (disputed) border between Suriname and French Guiana, and the Oyapock () most of the border between French Guiana and Brazil. The Tumuk Humak Mountains are part of the Tumucumaque Uplands of the

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (; ; ; ) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on ...

. They are geographically important because they form the divide between the biogeographical system of the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

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 is named after the Tumuk Humak Mountains and covers that country's section of the mountain range, in the

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

and

Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...

. 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
/ref> The French film ''Tumuc Humac'' (1970), directed by Jean-Marie Périer, was named after the mountain range.

Named points

* Knopaiamoi

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