HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Orinoco () is one of the longest
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
s in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
at . Its
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it 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 ...
and the remainder in
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. It is the fourth largest river in the world by discharge volume of water. The Orinoco River and its tributaries are the major transportation system for eastern and interior Venezuela and the
Llanos The Llanos (Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, sav ...
of Colombia. The environment and wildlife in the Orinoco's basin are extremely diverse.


Etymology

The river's name is derived from the Warao term for "a place to paddle", itself derived from the terms ''güiri'' (paddle) and ''noko'' (place) i.e. a navigable place.


History

The mouth of the Orinoco River at the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
was documented by
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
on 1 August 1498, during his third voyage. Its source at the Cerro Delgado–Chalbaud, in the Parima range, was not explored until 453 years later, in 1951. The source, near the Venezuelan–
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 ...
ian border, at above sea level (), was explored in 1951 by a joint French-Venezuelan expedition. The Orinoco, as well as its tributaries in the eastern
llanos The Llanos (Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, sav ...
such as the
Apure Apure State ( es, Estado Apure, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Its territory formed part of the provinces of Mérida, Maracaibo, and Barinas, in accordance with successive territorial ordinations pronounced by the colonial autho ...
and Meta, were explored in the 16th century by German expeditions under
Ambrosius Ehinger Ambrosius Ehinger, also (Ambrosio Alfínger in Spanish) Dalfinger, Thalfinger, (ca. 1500 in Thalfingen near Ulm – 31 May 1533 near Chinácota in modern-day Colombia) was a German conquistador and the first governor of the Welser concessi ...
and his successors. In 1531, starting at the principal outlet in the delta, the Boca de Navios,
Diego de Ordaz Diego de Ordaz also Diego de Ordás (; 1480 in Castroverde de Campos, Zamora province, Spain – 1532 on the Atlantic) was a Spanish explorer and soldier. Early career Diego de Ordaz arrived in Cuba at a young age. Serving under the orders ...
sailed up the river to the Meta. Antonio de Berrio sailed down the Casanare to the Meta, and then down the Orinoco River and back to Coro. In 1595, after capturing de Berrio to obtain information while conducting an expedition to find the fabled city of
El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
, the Englishman
Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...
sailed down the river, reaching the savanna country.
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
explored the basin in 1800, reporting on the pink river dolphins. He published extensively on the river's flora and fauna. The sources of the Orinoco River, located at Cerro
Carlos Delgado Chalbaud Carlos Román Delgado Chalbaud Gómez (20 January 1909 – 13 November 1950) was a Venezuelan career military officer. He was the president of Venezuela from 1948 to 1950 as leader of a military junta. In 1945, he was one of the high-ranking o ...
(2º19’05” N, 63º21’42” W), were discovered in 1951 by the French-Venezuelan expedition that went back and explored the Upper Orinoco course to the Sierra Parima near the border with Brasil, headed by Venezuelan army officer Frank Risquez Iribarren. The first bridge across the Orinoco River, the
Angostura Bridge Angostura Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the Orinoco River at Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the no ...
at
Ciudad Bolívar Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about ...
, Venezuela, was completed in 1967. In 1968, an expedition was set off by
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
and
Hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...
from
Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...
(
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 ...
) to Port of Spain (Trinidad). Aboard of a
SR.N6 The Saunders-Roe (later British Hovercraft Corporation) SR.N6 hovercraft (also known as the ''Winchester'' class) was essentially a larger version of the earlier SR.N5 series. It incorporated several features that resulted in the type becoming ...
hoverwork the expedicionaries followed the Negro river upstream to where it is joined by the
Casiquiare canal The Casiquiare river () is a distributary of the upper Orinoco flowing southward into the Rio Negro, in Venezuela, South America. As such, it forms a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the world's largest ...
in the border between Colombia and Venezuela. After following the Casiquiare to the Orinoco River they hovered thru perilous Rapids of Maipures and Atures. The Orinoco was then traversed down to its mouths in the Gulf of Paria and then to Port of Spain. The primary purpose of the expedition was filming for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series ''
The World About Us ''The World About Us'' was a BBC Two television documentary series on natural history which ran from 3 December 1967 to 20 July 1986.''Encyclopedia of Television'' (2d ed.), ed. Horace Newcomb, p. 324, 620, 1363. The show was created by David At ...
'' episode "The Last Great Journey on Earth from Amazon to Orinoco by Hovercraft", which aired in 1970, and demonstrated the abilities of a hovercraft, thereby promoting sales of this British invention. The first powerline crossing of the Orinoco River was completed in 1981 for an 800kVTL single span of using two towers tall. In 1992, an overhead power line crossing for two 400kV-circuits was completed just west of Morocure (between the cities of
Ciudad Bolívar Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about ...
and
Ciudad Guayana Ciudad Guayana () (in English Guayana City) is a city in Bolívar State (Venezuela), Bolívar State, Venezuela. It stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco, Orinoco river, at the point where it is joined by its main tributary ...
), north of the confluence of Routes1 and 19. It had three towers, and the two spans measured and , respectively. In 2006, a second bridge, known as the Orinoquia Bridge, was completed near
Ciudad Guayana Ciudad Guayana () (in English Guayana City) is a city in Bolívar State (Venezuela), Bolívar State, Venezuela. It stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco, Orinoco river, at the point where it is joined by its main tributary ...
, Venezuela.


Geography

The course of the Orinoco forms a wide ellipsoidal arc, surrounding 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 ...
; it is divided in four stretches of unequal length that very roughly correspond to the longitudinal zonation of a typical large river: * Upper Orinoco – long, from its headwaters to the Raudales de Guaharibos rapids, flows through mountainous landscape in a northwesterly direction * Middle Orinoco – long, divided into two sectors, the first of which ca. long has a general westward direction down to the confluence with the Atabapo and Guaviare rivers at San Fernando de Atabapo; the second flows northward, for about , along the Venezuelan–Colombian border, flanked on both sides by the westernmost granitic upwellings of the Guiana Shield which impede the development of a flood plain, to the Atures rapids near the confluence with the
Meta River The Meta River is a major left tributary of the Orinoco River in eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela, South America. The Meta originates in the Eastern Ranges of the Andes and flows through the Meta Department, Colombia as the confluence of ...
at
Puerto Carreño Puerto Carreño () is the departmental capital, and a municipality, of the department of Vichada in the Llanos of Colombia. History In 1913 the Colombian government created the province (comisaria) of Vichada and it was decided that its capital ...
*Lower Orinoco – long with a well-developed alluvial plain, flows in a northeast direction, from Atures rapids down to Piacoa in front of Barrancas * Delta Amacuro – long that empties into the Gulf of Paría and the Atlantic Ocean, a very large
delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...
, some and at its widest. At its mouth, the Orinoco River forms a wide delta that branches off into hundreds of rivers and waterways that flow through of swampy forests. In the rainy season, the Orinoco River can swell to a breadth of and a depth of . Most of the important Venezuelan rivers are tributaries of the Orinoco River, the largest being the Caroní, which joins it at
Puerto Ordaz Ciudad Guayana () (in English Guayana City) is a city in Bolívar State, Venezuela. It stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco river, at the point where it is joined by its main tributary, the Caroní river. The Caroni cros ...
, close to the Llovizna Falls. A peculiarity of the Orinoco river system is the
Casiquiare canal The Casiquiare river () is a distributary of the upper Orinoco flowing southward into the Rio Negro, in Venezuela, South America. As such, it forms a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the world's largest ...
, which starts as an arm of the Orinoco, and finds its way to the Rio Negro, a tributary of the
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, thus forming a 'natural canal' between Orinoco and Amazon. The
stream gradient Stream gradient (or stream slope) is the grade (or slope) of a stream measured by the ratio of drop in elevation per unit horizontal distance, usually expressed as meters per kilometer or feet per mile. Hydrology and geology A high gradient indicat ...
of the entire river is 0.05% (1,047 m over 2,250 km). Downstream of Raudales de Guaharibos the gradient is 0.01% (183/1,964), which is also the gradient from Ciudad Bolivar to the ocean (54/435).


Major rivers in the Orinoco Basin

*
Apure Apure State ( es, Estado Apure, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Its territory formed part of the provinces of Mérida, Maracaibo, and Barinas, in accordance with successive territorial ordinations pronounced by the colonial autho ...
: from Venezuela through the east into the Orinoco * Arauca: from Colombia to Venezuela east into the Orinoco * Atabapo: from the
Guiana Highlands The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...
of Venezuela north into the Orinoco * Caroní: from the Guiana Highlands of Venezuela north into the Orinoco *
Casiquiare canal The Casiquiare river () is a distributary of the upper Orinoco flowing southward into the Rio Negro, in Venezuela, South America. As such, it forms a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the world's largest ...
: in SE Venezuela, a
distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...
from the Orinoco flowing west to the Negro River, a major affluent to the Amazon * Caura: from eastern Venezuela (Guiana Highlands) north into the Orinoco * Guaviare: from Colombia east into the Orinoco * Inírida: from Colombia southeast into the Guaviare. * Meta: from Colombia, border with Venezuela east into the Orinoco * Ventuari: from eastern Venezuela (the Guiana Highlands) southwest into the Orinoco * Vichada: from Colombia east into the Orinoco


Ecology

The
boto Boto is a Portuguese name given to several types of dolphins and river dolphins native to the Amazon and the Orinoco River tributaries. A few botos exist exclusively in fresh water, and these are often considered primitive dolphins. Classificatio ...
and the
giant otter The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of musteli ...
inhabit the Orinoco River system.WWF:
Orinoco River Basin, South America.
' Retrieved 24 May 2014
The
Orinoco crocodile The Orinoco crocodile (''Crocodylus intermedius'') is a critically endangered crocodile. Its population is very small, and they can only be found in the Orinoco river basin in Colombia and Venezuela. Extensively hunted for their skins in the 19 ...
is one of the rarest reptiles in the world. Its range in the wild is restricted to the middle and lower Orinoco River Basin. More than 1000 fish species have been recorded in the river basin and about 15% are
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
. Among the fish in the river are species found in
brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
or salt water in the Orinoco
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
, but also many restricted to fresh water. By far the largest orders are
Characiformes Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationsh ...
and
Siluriformes Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
, which together account for more than 80% of the fresh water species.Hales, J., and P. Petry:
Orinoco Llanos
'. Orinoco Delta & Coastal Drainages. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
Some of the more famous are the black spot piranha and the
cardinal tetra The cardinal tetra (''Paracheirodon axelrodi'') is a freshwater fish of the family Characidae of order Characiformes. It is native to the upper Orinoco and Negro Rivers in South America. Growing to about total length, the cardinal tetra has ...
. The latter species, which is important in the aquarium industry, is also found in the Rio Negro, revealing the connection between this river and the Orinoco through the
Casiquiare canal The Casiquiare river () is a distributary of the upper Orinoco flowing southward into the Rio Negro, in Venezuela, South America. As such, it forms a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the world's largest ...
. Because the Casiquiare includes both blackwater and clear- to
whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...
sections, only relatively adaptable species are able to pass through it between the two river systems.


Economic activity

The river is navigable for most of its length, and
dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
enables ocean ships to go as far as
Ciudad Bolívar Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about ...
, at the confluence of the
Caroní River The Caroní River is the second most important river of Venezuela, the second in flow, and one of the longest, from the Kukenan tepui through to its confluence with the Orinoco River. The name "Caroní" is applied starting from the confluence ...
, upstream. River steamers carry cargo as far as
Puerto Ayacucho Puerto Ayacucho () is the capital and largest city of Amazonas State in Venezuela. Puerto Ayacucho is located across the Orinoco River from the Colombian village of Casuarito. The city was founded to facilitate the transport of goods past the ...
and the Atures Rapids.


El Florero iron mine

In 1926, a Venezuelan mining inspector found one of the richest
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
deposits near the Orinoco delta, south of the city of San Felix on a mountain named ''El Florero''. Full-scale mining of the ore deposits began after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, by a conglomerate of Venezuelan firms and US steel companies. At the start in the early 1950s, about 10,000 tons of ore-bearing soil was mined per day.


Tar sands

The Orinoco River deposits also contain extensive
tar sands Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and wate ...
in the Orinoco oil belt, which may be a source of future oil production.


Eastern Venezuelan basin

Encompassing the states of Anzoategui- Guarico and
Monagas ) , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Monagas'' , image_map = Monagas in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_m ...
states, the Interior Range forms the northern boundary and 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 ...
the southern boundary.Prieto, R., Valdes, G., 1992, El Furrial Oil Field, In Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade, 1978–1988, AAPG Memoir 54, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Maturin forms the eastern subbasin and Guarico forms the western subbasin. The El Furrial oil field was discovered in 1978, producing from late
Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
shallow marine
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
s in an
overthrust A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks. Thrust geometry and nomenclature Reverse faults A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less. If ...
ed
foreland basin A foreland basin is a structural basin that develops adjacent and parallel to a mountain belt. Foreland basins form because the immense mass created by crustal thickening associated with the evolution of a mountain belt causes the lithospher ...
.


Recreation and sports

Since 1973, the Civil Association Nuestros Rios son Navegables organize the Internacional Rally ''Nuestros Rios son Navegables'', a motonautical round trip of over 1,200 kilometers through the Orinoco, Meta and Apure Rivers. Starting out from Ciudad Bolívar or San Fernando de Apure, is the longest fluvial rally in the world with the participation of worldwide competitors, more than 30 support boats, logistics teams, thousands of tourists and fans travel. The boats had an average speed of 120 miles per hour. Since 1988, the local government of
Ciudad Guayana Ciudad Guayana () (in English Guayana City) is a city in Bolívar State (Venezuela), Bolívar State, Venezuela. It stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco, Orinoco river, at the point where it is joined by its main tributary ...
has conducted a swim race in the rivers Orinoco and Caroní, with up to 1,000 competitors. Since 1991, the ''Paso a Nado Internacional de los Rios Orinoco–Caroní'' has been celebrated every year, on a Sunday close to 19 April. Worldwide, this swim-meet has grown in importance, and it has a large number of competitors. The 26th meet was held in 2016.


See also

* Adaheli, the Sun in the
mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
of the Orinoco region * '' Fishes of the Orinoco in the Wild'' (2020) book *
Orinoco Flow "Orinoco Flow", also released as "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)", is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Enya from her second studio album, ''Watermark'' (1988). It was released on 3 October 1988 by WEA Records in the United Kingdom and by Geffen Rec ...
– the song uses the Orinoco and its environs as a theme for its lyrics


Notes


References

* Stark, James H. 1897. ''Stark's Guide-Book and History of Trinidad including Tobago, Granada, and St. Vincent; also a trip up the Orinoco and a description of the great Venezuelan Pitch Lake''. Boston, James H. Stark, publisher; London, Sampson Low, Marston & Company. (This book has an excellent description of a trip up the Orinoco as far as
Ciudad Bolívar Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about ...
and a detailed description of the Venezuelan
Pitch Lake The Pitch Lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons. It is located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad, within the Siparia Regional Corporation. The lake covers about 100 acres (0.405 squa ...
situated on the western side of the Gulf of Paria opposite.) * MacKee, E.D., Nordin, C.F. and D. Perez-Hernandez (1998). "The Waters and Sediments of the Rio Orinoco and its major Tributaries, Venezuela and Colombia." United States Geological Survey water-supply paper, /A-B. Washington: United States Government Printing Office. * Weibezahn, F.H., Haymara, A. and M.W. Lewis (1990). ''The Orinoco River as an ecosystem''. Caracas: Universidad Simon Bolivar. * Rawlins, C.B. (1999). ''The Orinoco River''. New York: Franklin Watts. * http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50506/50506-h/50506-h.htm


External links

* * (Transcription of book from 1902)
"Rios de Integracion ". Geurgescu, Paul. CAF. 2017
{{Authority control Rivers of Colombia Rivers of Venezuela Border rivers Colombia–Venezuela border International rivers of South America Orinoco basin Dredged rivers and waterways