Auyán Tepui (), also spelled Ayan, is a

tepui A tepui , or tepuy (), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran S ...

in Bolívar state,

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 ...

.Huber, O. (1995). Geographical and physical features. In: P.E. Berry, B.K. Holst & K. Yatskievych (eds.) '' Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Volume 1. Introduction.'' Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis. pp. 1–61. It is the most visited and one of the largest (but not the highest) tepuis 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 * G ...

, with a summit area of and an estimated slope area of . The unevenly heart-shaped summit plateau of Auyán-tepui is heavily inclined, rising from around in the northwest to a maximum of in the southeast. It is incised from the north by a vast valley, the Cañón del Diablo (Devil's Canyon), formed by the

Churún River The Churún River () is a river in Venezuela, part of the Orinoco River basin. It is located around , in Canaima National Park and a tributary comes from the Angel Falls Angel Falls ( es, Salto Ángel; Pemon language: ''Kerepakupai Merú'' ...

. The larger western portion of the plateau is partially forested, whereas the eastern part comprises mostly bare rock with only patchy vegetation cover. The mountain hosts a number of extensive cave systems. Auyán-tepui gives its name to the Auyán Massif, which also includes the tiny peaks of

Cerro El Sol Cerro El Sol, also known as Wei- or Uei-tepui, is a small tepui in Bolívar state, Venezuela. It is situated off the northern flank of Auyán-tepui Auyán Tepui (), also spelled Ayan, is a tepui in Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar state, Venezuel ...

and

Cerro La Luna Cerro La Luna is a small tepui in Bolívar state, Venezuela. It is situated off the northern flank of Auyán-tepui, just southeast of the similarly small Cerro El Sol Cerro El Sol, also known as Wei- or Uei-tepui, is a small tepui in Bolívar ...

to the north, and the satellite mountain of Uaipán-tepui to the south. The massif has a total summit area of roughly and an estimated slope area of . It is situated entirely within the bounds of

Canaima National Park Canaima National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Canaima) is a park in south-eastern Venezuela that roughly occupies the same area as the Gran Sabana region. It is located in Bolívar State, reaching the borders with Brazil and Guyana. History Ca ...

. Torres, I.N. & D.D. Martín (November 2007). Mejorando Nuestra Herencia. Auyán-tepui means "Devil's House" in the local Pemón language. Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world, drops from a cleft near the summit. The falls are high, with an uninterrupted descent of — a drop nineteen times higher than that of

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

. Auyán-tepui achieved international fame in 1933 when Angel Falls was accidentally discovered by

Jimmie Angel James "Jimmie" Crawford Angel (August 1, 1899December 8, 1956) was an American aviator after whom Angel Falls in Venezuela, the tallest waterfall in the world, is named. Early life James Crawford Angel was born August 1, 1899, near Cedar Valley, ...

, a

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

searching for gold ore. Attempting to land on the heart-shaped mesa in 1937, Angel crashed his small Flamingo plane on top of Auyán-tepui and was forced to hike down the gradually sloping backside, a trip that took him and his crew 11 days to complete; he was immortalised when the waterfall was named after him.Angel, K. (2001) evised 2009, 2010 Alexander von Humboldt International Conference 2001, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. Around 25 species of

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s and

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s are known from the summit plateau of Auyán-tepui, as well as numerous

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s. Like many tepuis, the mountain hosts a rich assemblage of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

. Lindorf, H. (June 2006)
La expedición universitaria a la meseta Auyán-tepui, abril 1956
''Acta Botánica Venezuelica'' 29(1): 177–188. Angel falls panoramic 20080314

References

* Brewer-Carías, C. (2010)
El origen de los tepuyes: los hijos de las estrellas
''Río Verde'' 3: 54–69. * De Marmels, J. (1983). The Odonata of the region of Mount Auyantepui and the Sierra de Lema, in Venezuelan Guyana. 3. Additions to the families Gomphidae, Aeshnidae and Corduliidae, with description of ''Progomphus racenisi'' spec. nov.. ''Odonatologica'' 12(1): 1–13. * De Marmels, J. (1994). ''Sympetrum chaconi'' spec. nov. from Auyan-Tepui, Venezuela, with notes on a pantepuyan form of ''Tramea binotata'' (Rambur) (Anisoptera: Libellulidae). ''Odonatologica'' 23(4): 405–412. * Delascio Chitty, F. (1997). Apuntes sobre la vegetación del Auyantepui. ''Acta Terramaris'' 10: 27–42. * Dennison, L.R. (1942).

'. Hastings House, New York. * Dunsterville, G.C.K. (August 1964). Auyantepui, home of fifty million orchids. ''American Orchid Society Bulletin'' 1964: 678–689. * Dunsterville, G.C.K. (1965). Auyantepui. ''Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales'' 26(109): 163–171. * Dunsterville, G.C.K. & E. Dunsterville (1982). Auyán-tepui: reminiscences of an orchid search. In: J. Arditti (ed.)

'. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York. pp. 19–38. * Jaffe, K., J. Lattke & R. Perez-Hernández (January–June 1993)
Ants on the tepuies of the Guiana Shield: a zoogeographic study.
''Ecotropicos'' 6(1): 21–28. * Huber, O. (1976). Observaciones climatológicas sobre la región del Auyán-tepui (Edo. Bolívar). ''Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales'' 32(132–133): 509–525. * La Cruz, L. (February–April 2010)
Iván Calderon y su mundo vertical
''Río Verde'' 1: 98–115. * Maguire, B. (1957). Resultados botánicos de la expedición de la Universidad Central de Venezuela a la región Auyantepui en la Guayana venezolana, abril de 1956. 1. Una nueva especie de la familia Cyperaceae. ''Acta Botánica Venezuelica'' 2(6): 43–45. * Mecchia, M. & L. Piccini (1999). Hydrogeology and SiO₂ geochemistry of the Aonda Cave system (Auyantepui, Bolivar, Venezuela). ''Boletín Sociedad Venezolana de Espeleología'' 33: 1–11. * Moldenke, H.N. (1957). Resultados botánicos de la expedición de la Universidad Central de Venezuela a la región Auyantepui en la Guayana venezolana, abril de 1956. 2. Three new species of the family Eriocaulaceae. ''Acta Botánica Venezuelica'' 2(7): 47–50. * Myers, C.W. (1997). Preliminary remarks on the summit herpetofauna of Auyantepui, eastern Venezuela. ''Acta Terramaris'' 10: 1–8. * Phelps, W.H. (1938). La expedición del American Museum of Natural History al Monte Auyantepui. ''Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales'' 4(32): 251–265. * Rácenis, J. (May–August 1968). Los odonatos de la región del Auyantepui y de la Sierra de Lema, en la Guayana Venezolana. 1. Superfamilia Agrionoidea. ''Memoria de la Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle'' 28(80): 151–176. * Rácenis, J. (1970). Los odonatos de la región del Auyantepui y de la Sierra de Lema, en la Guayana Venezolana. 2. Las familias Gomphidae, Aeshnidae y Corduliidae. ''Acta Biologica Venezuelica'' 7(1): 23–39. * Roze, J.A. (1958). Los reptiles del Auyantepui, Venezuela, basándose en las colecciones de las expediciones de Phelps-Tate, del American Museum of Natural History, 1937–1938, y de la Universidad Central de Venezuela, 1956. ''Acta Biologica Venezuelica'' 2(22): 243–270. * Señaris, J.C. (1995) 1993' Una nueva especie de ''Oreophrynella'' (Anura; Bufonidae) de la cima del Auyán-tepui, Estado Bolívar, Venezuela. ''Memoria de la Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle'' 53(140): 177–183. * Señaris, J.C. & J. Ayarzagüena (1994) 1993' Una nueva especie de ''Centrolenella'' (Anura: Centrolenidae) del Auyán-tepui, Edo. Bolívar, Venezuela. ''Memoria de la Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle'' 53(139): 121–126. * Steyermark, J.A. (1967). Flora del Auyán-tepui. ''Acta Botánica Venezuelica'' 2(5–8): 5–370. * Tate, G.H.H. (1938). Auyantepui: notas sobre la Expedición Phelps (Phelps Venezuelan Expedition). ''Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales'' 5(36): 96–125. * Tate, G.H.H. (July 1938). Auyantepui: notes on the Phelps Venezuelan Expedition. ''Geographical Review'' 28(3): 452–474. * Vareschi, V. (1958). Resultados botánicos de la expedición de la Universidad Central de Venezuela a la región Auyantepui en la Guayana venezolana, abril de 1956. 3. ''Hymenophyllopsis universitatis'', a new species endemic to Guayana and its relatives. ''Acta Biologica Venezuelica'' 2(15): 151–162. {{DEFAULTSORT:Auyan-tepui Tepuis of Venezuela Mountains of Venezuela Mountains of Bolívar (state) Canaima National Park

See also

References

Further reading