The Pacaraima or Pakaraima Mountains ( pt, Serra de Pacaraima, es, Sierra de Pacaraima) are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

primarily in southwestern

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 ...

, and into

northern Brazil The North Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Norte do Brasil; ) is the largest region of Brazil, corresponding to 45.27% of the national territory. It is the second least inhabited of the country, and contributes with a minor percentage in the national ...

and eastern

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 ...

Geography

The range extends from west to east for over . Its highest peak is

Mount Roraima Mount Roraima ( es, Monte Roraima; Tepuy Roraima; Cerro Roraima pt, Monte Roraima ) is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepuis (table-top mountain) or plateaux in South America. It is located at the junction of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. ...

at above sea level, 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 ...

surrounded by cliffs high. It is geologically part of the

Guayana 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 ...

and biogeographically part of the

Guayana Highlands Guyana is a country in the Guianas, South America. Guyana, Guiana, or Guayana may refer to: * French Guiana, an overseas department of France in the Guianas * The Guianas, a region in the north of South America * Guayana Region, an administrative ...

.The mountains form the divide between the Orinoco Valley to the north and the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its 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 of Bolivi ...

to the south. They also serve as a natural boundary in the east–west direction, where they extend to form a border marker between Brazil and southeastern Venezuela and between Brazil and west central Guyana.

Geology

The Pacaraimas are a sandstone plateau underlain by a horizonal

precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

marine strata that arose in post-cretaceous time. Erosion of the sandstone (the Roraima Supergroup) results in dramatic escarpments, the individual remnants of which are called

tepuis 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 ...

Mount Ayanganna Mount Ayanganna is a sandstone tepui in the Pakaraima Mountains of western Guyana, and located east of Mount Roraima. With a height of it is the easternmost tepui taller than . It is part of the Guiana Shield and Guyana Highlands. Ecology Th ...

and

Mount Wokomung Mount Wokomung is a sandstone tepui in the Pakaraima Mountains of western Guyana, the summit is 1700 metres. Together with Mount Ayanganna, 37 km to the north, Wokomung constitutes the easternmost tepui reaching above 1500 metres. The slo ...

are some of the more well-known examples. Kaieteur Falls, Guyana

Numerous rivers originate in these mountains and on their way down they plunge spectacularly to form some picturesque waterfalls. A beautiful example of this is the

Kaieteur Falls Kaieteur is the world's largest single drop waterfall. Located on the Potaro River in the Kaieteur National Park, it sits in a section of the Amazon rainforest included in the Potaro-Siparuni region of Guyana. It is 226 metres (741 ft) hi ...

in Guyana and

Angel Falls Angel Falls ( es, Salto Ángel; Pemon language: ''Kerepakupai Merú'' meaning "waterfall of the deepest place", or ''Parakupá Vená'', meaning "the fall from the highest point") is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the List of waterfalls by hei ...

. The headwaters of 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 ...

and

Ireng River The Ireng River (or Maú River, generally used in Portuguese) forms part of Guyana's western border with Brazil. It flows through the valleys of the Pakaraima Mountains for most of its length. It is the only major river in Guyana which flows from ...

are sourced in the Pacaraimas.

Ecology

The Pacaraimas are mostly forested, with occasional savannas especially at the base of Roraima and on the Brazilian side of the range. The savannas are made up of grasses and the occasional ''

Curatella americana ''Curatella americana'', commonly known as the wild cashew tree, sambaı́ba, and the sandpaper tree, is a species of tree in the family Dilleniaceae. It is the sole accepted species in genus ''Curatella''. Description ''Curatella americana'' is ...

'' trees below 6500 ft. These areas are prone to fire, either man-made for agriculture or cattle ranching or during times of drought. Difficulty in breaching the steep slopes has made data collection a challenge, however the relative isolation of these flat-topped mountains produces an array of endemic flora with a "great potential for high species diversity". The

Rapateaceae The Rapateaceae are a family of flowering plants. The botanical name has been recognized by most taxonomists. The APG II system of 2003 also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Poales in the clade commelinids, in the monocots. T ...

family is one of the most commonly represented of flowering plants amid the tepui plateaus.

Conservation

Logging and mining interests pose a threat to the biodiversity of the Pacaraimas. The

Monte Roraima National Park Mount Roraima National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional do Monte Roraima) is a national park in the state of Roraima, northern Brazil. It includes the Brazilian section of Mount Roraima, and other mountains along the borders with Venezuela and Guyana, ...

protects part of the range in

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

, Brazil.

Settlement

The mountains are a traditional home to

Patamona The Patamona are an Amerindian people native to the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana and northern Brazil.Patamon ...

and

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, Ma ...

people. The Macushi village of Tipuru is considered the oldest village in the South Pakaraima Mountains. It has the oldest church and school in the region. Landmarks are of special significance to indigenous people, and are intertwined with oral histories and culture. According to Macushi cosmology, mountains and other landforms were created by mythical creator brothers when they cut down ''Wayaka'', the "tree of life". These brothers transformed people, animals, and other things into rock formations, thus giving them special mythological origins.

References