Kamarang River is a river in Venezuela and Guyana, and a part 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 ...

basin.

Route

The river originates in

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 ...

where it is called Río Camarán or Río Camurán. Its source is located right next to the Troncal 10, in the middle of the

Gran Sabana La Gran Sabana (, en, The Great Savanna) is a region in southeastern Venezuela, part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion. The savanna spreads into the regions of the Guiana Highlands and south-east into Bolívar State, extending further to the bo ...

region. The nascent river first flows in parallel to the road in a southeasterly direction. It then passes the road a few meters after the Campamento Kamoiran. Here the river forms the Kamoiran rapids. Its course then turns more eastward for several kilometers through open Savannah. Shortly after entering the disputed

Guayana Esequiba (), sometimes also called or Essequibo, is a disputed territory of west of the Essequibo River that is administered and controlled by Guyana but claimed by Venezuela.

territory in

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 ...

the river drops roughly 160 meters at the impressive Kamarang falls creating a 40 meter wide water curtain. The Kamarang River then flows through a deep forested gorge first north-, then eastbound. This area is very remote and inhabited by the Arecuna people and rarely visited as it is difficult to access from both Guyana and Venezuela. The river then flows east through the forest until meeting the

Mazaruni River The Mazaruni River is a tributary of the Essequibo River in northern Guyana. Its source is in the remote western forests of the Pakaraima Mountains and its confluence with the Cuyuni River is near Bartica. As it descends from the Guiana Highlands ...

at the mining village of

Kamarang Kamarang is an Amerindian village, standing at the confluence of the Kamarang River and Mazaruni River, in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region of Guyana. Kamarang has a Primary School, Hospital, Police station and can be accessed by air via the Kama ...

Falls

Kamarang Great Falls, also known as Kamarang Meru, plunges off the

Pacaraima 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 ...

escarpment in an isolated western corner of Guyana only few kilometers from the Venezuelan border. Its height is 145 meters. By its volume Kamarang Great Falls is one of the most powerful waterfalls in the country. The falls were reportedly discovered in 1938 by American entomologist and physician

Paul A. Zahl Paul Arthur Zahl (1910 – October 16, 1985) was an explorer and biologist. He was a frequently published author and columnist as well as a respected photographer. He served as senior scientist to the National Geographic Society from 1958 to 1975. ...

, who wrote that the noise created by the falling water was deafening already before the falls were visible.

References

Bibliography

*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993. {{coord, 05.8667, N, 60.6000, W, source:wikidata, display=title Rivers of Venezuela

Route

Falls

See also

References

Bibliography