The Acarai Mountains (also, Akarai Mountains) ( pt, Serra do Acaraí; french: Montes Acaraí) are a wet, forested highland region of low

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

located in the southern part of

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. This range lies along the common border between Guyana and

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 ...

. The Acarai Mountains is one of four mountain ranges in Guyana, the others being the Imataka, Kanuku and

Pakaraima The Pacaraima or Pakaraima Mountains ( pt, Serra de Pacaraima, es, Sierra de Pacaraima) are a mountain range primarily in southwestern Guyana, and into northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela. Geography The range extends from west to east for over ...

mountains. The headwaters of the

Essequibo River The Essequibo River (Spanish: ''Río Esequibo'' originally called by Alonso de Ojeda ''Río Dulce'') is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana bor ...

, the longest river in Guyana, and the

Courantyne River The Courantyne/Corentyne/Corantijn River is a river in northern South America in Suriname and Guyana. It is the longest river in the country and creates the border between Suriname and the East Berbice-Corentyne region of Guyana. Its tributarie ...

, have their sources in this range. The actual source of the Essequibo was discovered in 2013 by a Guyanese-German team. The mountain range was first mentioned in 1821 by A.H. Brué as Sierra do Acaray. This range is home to a single village of Wai-Wais, the descendants of surviving tribes that were once believed extinct. The village was first mentioned around 1837. The unnamed high point of this range is located at , and has an altitude of . This range extends to the east, where it becomes the

Tumuk Humak Mountains The Tumuk Humak Mountains ( nl, Toemoek-Hoemakgebergte, pt, Serra do Tumucumaque, french: Monts Tumuc Humac) are a mountain range in South America, stretching about east–west in the border area between Brazil in the south and Suriname and F ...

along the border of

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

and

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

with Brazil.

References

External links

The Guyana Story, Chapter 3
Mountain ranges of Guyana Mountain ranges of Brazil {{Guyana-geo-stub