''Caño Cristales'' (; en, "Crystal Channel") is a Colombian river located in the Serrania de la Macarena, an isolated mountain range in the

Meta Department Meta () is a department of Colombia. It is close to the geographic center of the country, to the east of the Andean mountains. A large portion of the department, which is also crossed by the Meta River, is covered by a grassland plain known a ...

. It is a tributary of the

Guayabero River The Guayabero River is a river of Colombia. It is primarily located in the Meta Department, forming a portion of its border with the Guaviare Department. It is part of the Orinoco River basin. Its confluence with the Ariari River The Ariari Ri ...

, itself a part of the

Orinoco basin The Orinoco Basin is the part of South America drained by the Orinoco river and its tributaries. The Orinoco watershed covers an area of about 990000 km2, making it the third largest in South America, covering most of Venezuela and eastern p ...

. Caño Cristales was found in 1969 by a group of cattle farmers. The river is commonly called the "River of Five Colors" or the "Liquid Rainbow," and is noted for its striking colors. The bed of the river from the end of July through November is variously colored yellow, green, blue, black, and especially red, the last caused by '' Rhyncholacis clavigera'' ( syn. ''Macarenia clavigera'') plants on the riverbed. In recent years, the river has become a tourist destination; there were more than 16,000 visitors in 2016.

Geography

The

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

rocks of the Serrania de la Macarena tableland formed approximately 1.2 billion years ago. They are a western extension 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 ...

. Caño Cristales is a fast-flowing river with many rapids and waterfalls. Small circular pits known as

giant's kettle A giant's kettle, also known as either a giant's cauldron, moulin pothole, or glacial pothole, is a typically large and cylindrical pothole drilled in solid rock underlying a glacier either by water descending down a deep moulin or by gravel r ...

s can be found in many parts of the riverbed, which have been formed by pebbles or chunks of harder rocks. Once one of these harder rock fragments falls into one of the cavities, it is rotated by the water current and begins to carve at the cavity wall, increasing the dimensions of the pit.

Fauna and flora

The Serranía de la Macarena is located on the border of three large

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s, each of them with high diversity of flora and fauna: the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, the Llanos, and the Amazon rainforest. The representative biome of the Serrania de la Macarena is the hydrophytic rainforest: hot, warm, and cold. The tableland is home to about 420 species of birds, 10 species of amphibians, 43 species of reptiles, and eight primates. Caño Cristales is home to several species of

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 ...

(despite sometimes claimed to contain no fish), freshwater

turtles Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tur ...

and other aquatic animals. Caño Cristales river has a wide variety of aquatic plants. The water of the river is extremely clear due to the lack of nutrients and small particles. Almost unique is the bright red - pink coloration of riverbed after the rainy period from the end of June till November. This color is caused by great quantities of plant species '' Rhyncholacis clavígera'' (often known by its former name, ''Macarenia clavigera''). This plant is only found in found in Caño Cristales and a few others rivers in the region, such as the Caño Siete Machos. These plants, which are green when young, then turn yellowish and finally various shade of red, adhere tightly to rocks in places where the river has faster current.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cano Cristales Rivers of Colombia National Monuments of Colombia