Cerro Sarisariñama is a

tepui A tepui , or tepuy (), is a member of a family of table-top mountains or mesas found in northern South America, especially in Venezuela, western Guyana, and northern Brazil. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the ...

, a flat-topped mountain in Jaua-Sarisariñama National Park at the far south-west of Bolívar State,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, near the border with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Its altitude range is between and . The name of the mountain originates from the tale of the local Ye'kuana people about an evil spirit living in caves up in the mountain and devouring human flesh with a sound "Sari... sari...". The tepui is in one of the most remote areas in the country, with the closest road being 35 miles to the northeast.

Size

Similar to other tepuis, Sarisariñama consists of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that 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 tecton ...

of the

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 t ...

formation, belonging to the Paleoproterozoan era. The summit area of Sarisariñama tepui is and the slope area is .

Biology

Sarisariñama is unique among tepuis, with a forest fully covering the top of it. This isolated ecosystem is especially rich with numerous endemic species of plants and animals.

Sinkholes

The most distinctive features of this tepui are its

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

s. Reports first began to circulate about them in 1954 after pilots began flying over the tepui. There are four known sinkholes. Two, Sima Humboldt and Sima Martel, are visually unusual, huge, and well known, with isolated forest

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s covering their bottoms. The largest one, Sima Humboldt, is up to wide and deep. Another Sarisariñama sinkhole, the Sima de la Lluvia, has been very important for exploration of the processes of erosion on tepuis.

Exploration

Sarisariñama became a much sought destination for exploration after 1961, when pilot Harry Gibson noticed both enormous sinkholes.http://www.sil.si.edu/smithsoniancontributions/botany/pdf_hi/sctb-0056.pdf Otto Huber and John J. Wurdack. History of Botanical Exploration in Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela. Smithsonian Institution Press, City of Washington, 1984. The summit of Sarisariñama was not reached until 1974, when a helicopter was used to airlift thirty researchers to the top of the plateau. Initial investigations were done at both sinkholes, including a descent to the bottom of Sima Humboldt. A more thorough speleological investigation was done two years later, in 1976 by a joint Venezuelan-Polish expedition. They discovered one more sinkhole, Sima de la Lluvia. For some two decades it was the longest known

cave (1.35 km) in the world, and its exploration to a great extent solved the mystery of the formation of these sinkholes. Mount Roraima also in Venezuela has the longest

cave in the world with a cave. Currently, access to Sarisariñama is restricted to scientific researchers.

References

* ''Into the Lost World: A Descent Into Prehistoric Time'' by David Nott, 1975, Prentice Hall

Size

Biology

Sinkholes

Exploration

See also

References

Further reading