The Iwokrama Forest is a nature reserve of central Guyana located in the heart of the

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...

, one of the four last pristine tropical forests in the world ( Congo,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, and the Amazon rainforest are the others). It represents an important transition zone in rainfall, landforms, human histories and biological communities. At its widest, the area is , and the greatest extent in a north-south direction is 80 km (50 mi). The Georgetown–Lethem Road dissects the forest, traversing about between the northeastern and southern boundaries. The forest lies between 4° and 5° north latitude and 58.5 and 59.5 degrees west longitude. The Iwokrama Forest is bordered to the west by the

Pakaraima Mountains 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 ...

and to the east by the isolated highlands scattered through central-east Guyana. It is also bordered by

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

hs in the southwest and northeast of Guyana. 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 b ...

forms the eastern boundary. The northern boundary is the Siparuni River. The

Burro-Burro River The Burro-Burro River is a river of Guyana. It flows directly through the Iwokrama Forest, and is an important water source for the Macushi as well as used for ecotourism. It is protected for limited use of subsistence fishing, and the river is ...

runs through the centre, and most of its watershed is within the forest. The area is covered with lowland

tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fore ...

, and dominated by tall tropical trees with a dense canopy 20 to 30 metres (70 to 100 ft) high. Iwokrama Rainforest, Guyana (12178653855)

The Iwokrama Forest's ecosystem is located at the juncture of Amazonian and Guianan flora and fauna. As a result, it contains high species richness and several species of animals that are threatened or extinct across most of their former geographic ranges, like the

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecophag ...

. The Iwokrama Forest has the highest species richness for

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

(over 420 described so far) and

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s (90) for any area this size in the world. It also has extraordinarily high

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 lightweig ...

diversity (over 500). Iwokrama Forest has also been identified as a global hotspot for several plant families, including

Lecythidaceae The Lecythidaceae comprise a family of about 20 genera and 250–300 species of woody plants native to tropical South America, Africa (including Madagascar), Asia and Australia. The most important member of the family in world trade is the B ...

and

Chrysobalanaceae Chrysobalanaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of trees and shrubs in 27 genera and about 700 species of pantropical distribution with a centre of diversity in the Amazon. Some of the species contain silica in their bodies for ri ...

. At 300 metres high, the Iwokrama Mountains form the geographic focal point of the Iwokrama Forest. They once provided a "place of refuge" for the

Macushi The Macushi ( pt, Macuxi) are an indigenous people living in the borderlands of southern Guyana, northern Brazil in the state of Roraima, and in an eastern part of Venezuela. Identification The Macushi are also known as the Macusi, Macussi, ...

people. In 1996, The

Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development is an autonomous non-profit institution established by Guyana and the Commonwealth. It "exists to promote the conservation and the sustainable and equitable use of tro ...

was established to manage the forest. The centre and the forest are named after this striking mountain formation.

References

External links

{{commons category
Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development

Iwokrama Field Station, Iwokrama Forest Reserve
Geography of Guyana Natural history of Guyana Protected areas of Guyana