The Ireng River (or Maú River, generally used in Portuguese) forms part of Guyana's western border with

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It flows through the valleys of 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 ...

for most of its length. It is the only major river in Guyana which flows from North to South, up to its confluence into the Takutu River. It is one of the northernmost tributaries of the Amazon river system. The sources of the river are in 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 Guyan ...

, created in 1989. The larger part of the Ireng River basin forms the frontier between Brazil and Guyana. Ireng's main tributaries are the Uailan and Canã rivers on the Brazilian side and the Cacó, Dacã and Socobi rivers on the Guyanese side. All of these rivers merge with the upper and middle sections of the Ireng. Their courses are through breathtaking formations of sedimentary rocks formed by tectonic movements in ancient times. The Ireng River's waters are dark, bearing a striking resemblance to that of Rio Negro near Manaus, in Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is considered to be the most picturesque of Guyana's many rivers.

Orinduik Falls The Orinduik Falls lie on the Ireng River, a highland river that thunders over steps and terraces of red jasper on the border of Guyana and Brazil before merging with the Takutu River and into Brazil to join the Amazon River. The falls are situated ...

and Takagka Falls are located on the Ireng River. Cnemidophorus lemniscatus (01)

Biodiversity in the Ireng

The Ireng River region is home to such reptile species as the Antilles leaf-toed gecko (''Hemidactylus palaichthus'') and rainbow whiptail (''Cnemidophorus lemniscatus''); amphibians such as the sapo dorado (''Bufo guttatus'') and '' Leptodactylus bolivianus''; birds including the

Muscovy duck The Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') is a large duck native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United St ...

(''Cairina moschata''),

black vulture The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Cen ...

(''Coragyps atratus''),

crested caracara The crested caracara (''Caracara plancus'') is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found from the southern United States through Central and South America to Tierra del Fuego. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Polyborus''. Descri ...

(''Caracara plancus''),

double-striped thick-knee The double-striped thick-knee (''Burhinus bistriatus'') is a stone-curlew, a group of waders in the family Burhinidae. The vernacular name refers to the prominent joints in the long greenish-grey legs, and ''bistriatus'' to the two stripes of th ...

(''Burhinus bistriatus'') and numerous others; mammals include the

South American tapir The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ''tapi'ira''), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, the ''anta'' (Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushco ...

(''Tapirus terrestris''), jaguar (''Panthera onca'') and the

red-rumped agouti The red-rumped agouti (''Dasyprocta leporina''), also known as the golden-rumped agouti, orange-rumped agouti or Brazilian agouti, is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae. Distribution It is native to northeastern South America, wh ...

(''Dasyprocta leporina''). Black Vulture (1)

References

{{commons category Rivers of Guyana Brazil–Guyana border International rivers of South America Rivers of Roraima Border rivers