Cuquenan Falls, Venezuela

The mesmerizingly awe-inspiring waterfall, draws collective attention and admiration? Why do travelers cross the world in search of them? May be aesthetic beauty invokes a sense of calm, or the sheer power and magnitude awakens inquisitive nature, however, humans associate waterfalls with clean, fresh water and, as such, with life.

Well, Cuquenan Falls is also called, Salto Kukenan, Kukenaam, is the second tallest major waterfall in Venezuela after Angel Falls. It is also the second tallest free-leaping waterfall in the world. The waterfall usually cited as the 11th highest waterfall in the world. The Cuquenan Falls drop in a single leap of around 2,211 feet and the final portion of the falls trickles down towards the base of the Kukenan Tepui. The Kukenan Tepui is located nearby Mount Roraima, serves as the geographical marker of the border between Brazil, Venezuela, and Guyana. Cuquenan Falls, which similar to Yumbilla, is known for being tall, but not powerful, however can be difficult to access due to its isolation, but is best viewed from a distance.

Mount Roraima also hosts its own waterfall, usually referred to as Roraima Falls, leaps off the tepui in four tiered leaps. The height is estimated at approximately 2,000 feet. There has been some disagreement over the years about the overall ranking of “Cuquenan Falls” among the world's tallest waterfalls. Therefore, the falls has been listed anywhere from 2nd to 20th in various publications and Internet sites. Thus, these discrepancies perhaps arise because most official measurements of the falls take into consideration only the free-leaping portion, omitting the bottom part that cascades along the tepui. Moreover, some published listings incorporate the free-falling measurements only when arguing that its height is not ample for the top 10 tallest waterfalls.

 

 

 

 

Mount Roraima, Oldest Geological Formations on Earth

Mount Roraima is also known as Tepuy Roraima and Cerro Roraima; is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepui plateaus in South America. A mystic, flat-topped mountain on the Venezuela-Brazil border that mystified 19th-century explorers and inspired “The Lost World” novel is enticing ever more modern-day adventurers. In 1595, English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh first described during his expedition. Once impenetrable to all but the Pemon indigenous people, thousands of hikers a year now make the trek across savannah, through rivers, under a waterfall and along a narrow path scaling the cliffs of Mount Roraima. Its 31 km2 summit area is bounded on all sides by cliffs rising 400 metres. The mountain also serves as the triple border point of Venezuela (85% of its territory), Guyana (10%) and Brazil (5%). The throngs are a boon to Venezuela's tottering tourism industry; they also scatter a prehistoric landscape with unwanted litter and strain a delicate ecosystem. Mount Roraima lies on the Guiana Shield in the southeastern corner of Venezuela's forming the highest peak of Guyana's Highland Range. Mount Roraima Top Park is considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, as much as two billion years ago in the Precambrian. It's an exotic, faraway destination so it's both very costly and very attractive, have the peaceful aura appropriate to one of the Earth's most ancient formations.

Although the steep sides of the plateau make it difficult to access, it was the first recorded major tepui to be climbed: Sir Everard im Thurn walked up a forested ramp in December 1884 to scale the plateau. This is the same route hikers take nowadays. The only non-technical route to the top is the Paraitepui route from Venezuela; any other approach will involve climbing gear. The highest point in Guyana and the highest point of the Brazilian state of Roraima lie on the plateau, but Venezuela and Brazil have higher mountains elsewhere. Mount Roraima, a natural border between three South American countries, offer such breathtaking views that they might just stick with you forever and ever down in some rusty memory box. This spot is about unconventional traveling ideas, a place where people can find unworldly landscapes and a new way of seeing things. And this is definitely one of them. Moreover, almost daily rains have also created an exclusive ecosystem which includes a number of endemic species, black frogs, dragonflies, tarantulas and such as a unique carnivorous pitcher plant, clinging to cracks and crevasses and some of the highest waterfalls in the world.

Mount Roraima was considered a symbol of these regions, an “axis mundi”, a massive tree within which all the vegetables and fruits of the world grow, tall cliff a place of mystery, myths for indigenous people used to live here from many centuries. Though, hiking is not hard here, can seek help from local peoples against some money. Mount Roraima is said to have some of the most captivating hiking trails in the world. This remote landscape of jungle and cliffs has inspired the dinosaur infested landscapes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Lost World, and the dramatic waterfalls dubbed “Paradise Falls” in the 2009 Pixar film Up. As the time progresses, Mount Roraima is getting popular among tourist, an average 3,000 and 4,000 people are climbing each year, up from hundreds a few years ago. That makes queues during peak times, and sometimes leaves the few sheltered coves at the top crammed with tents. On Mount Roraima's vast plateau strange & gnarled rocks formed when the African and American continents scraped apart, play with the mind, humorous in the sun, ghostly in the mist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jasper Creek Venezuela

Jasper Creek is the name of a river and a series of cascades and waterfalls in the South American country of Venezuela. In the Gran Sabana Municipality of Bolívar State, in Venezuela, adjacent the town of Santa Elena de Uairén, flows a small stream. Japer creek bedrock of this stream is pure jasper, a semi-precious stone of mostly quartz and silica, with a strong red color due to the presence of iron. Jasper is used throughout the world to make jewelry and ornaments. The Venezuela native people traditionally used the jasper as striking stones to create sparks to start fires, so the creek is locally known as Kako Paru or “Firestone Creek”. In English, it is known by the name of Jasper Creek or “Quebrada de Jaspe” in Spanish. Jasper Creek is located about 25 km southwest of Mount Roraima. Jasper creek is naturally found in veins and cracks in volcanic rocks, and generally occurs only in comparatively small deposits, but in the Guiana Highlands, the intrusions of magma into the sedimentary bedrock have led to the formation of massive slabs of the stone that sometimes are hundreds of meters long. Moreover the stone slab of jasper over which the creek flows is more than 300 meters long, and the water is just a few inches deep.

Moreover the ripples in the water have carved long, parallel grooves and channels in the bedrock. In the shelter of this grooves, black algae grows that provides the riverbed a stripped appearance alike to tiger’s skin. The factual brilliance of the jasper is apparent only when sunlight shines directly on wet stone, writes “IbexEarth”. “When sunlight shines on the Firestone Creek, the brilliance of the cascades is exposed and the bedrock glows crimson and orange.” Jasper Creek is not the only creek with jasper bedrock; however a lot of other small streams throughout the Guiana Highlands cascade over layers of jasper or red hematite, but Jasper Creek are the largest and most remarkable of all. It is one of the most widespread tourist spot in Gran Sabana. Every year, thousands of visitors pay the visit to this unique place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Greatest “Amazon River” is Home to Several Extremes

Amazon River is the greatest river of South America and the largest drainage system in the world in terms of the volume of its flow and the area of its basin. Amazon River is at approximately 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) equivalent of the distance from New York City to Rome. Amazon River is the 2^nd longest river in the world, just slightly shorter than the River Nile, but the largest river by volume. The length of the Amazon and the Nile Rivers has been in a tight battle for title of world's longest river. The precise length of the two rivers differs over time and reputable sources disagree as to their actual length.

The Amazon River has more than 3,000 recognized species of fish and more new species are still being discovered. The Amazon Basin is covered by half of the planet’s remaining rainforests. Therefore a tenth of the world’s projected 10 million living species live in the Amazon rainforest, jungle tours are more about the boating upriver into the damp, buzzing, oppressive ambience than actually spotting animals. Amazon River westernmost source is high in the Andes Mountains, within 160 kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, and its mouth is in the Atlantic Ocean, on the northeastern coast of Brazil.

As most of know, that Amazon River is located in South America.  And it runs through Guyana, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Peru. During the rainy season, the Amazon River can stretch to over 190 kilometers (120 miles) in width. There’re no bridges that cross the Amazon, because there is no need of bridges as the majority of the Amazon River runs through rainforests rather than roads or cities. The largest city along the Amazon River is Manaus. Located in Brazil it is home to over 1.7 million people. The one of world’s largest snake Anacondas lurk in the shallow waters of the Amazon Basin, they’re occasionally attack larger animals such as goats that get to close the water. The Amazon River is also home to the piranha, a meat eating type of fish! Being carnivores, piranhas are famous to attack in groups, preying on livestock that strays into the water and possibly appearing in one or two of your own nightmares!

The Amazon River is not only the greatest in the world but it is also home to several other "Extremes" A captured Arapaima: one of the largest freshwater fish species in the world of the natural world. Rapaima is locally famous as Pirarucu Arapaima gigas are one of largest, fresh water fish in the world. They’ve been found to reach a length of 15 ft/4m and can weigh up to 440lbs/200kg. Catfish normally found in warm & slow moving waters of lakes and streams are pretty creepy looking fish with big flat heads and "whiskers" on either side of their heads. Most catfish are anywhere from 8” in long to about 5 feet and weighing in at up to 60 pounds. But the catfish that lives in this part of world is as big as nature will allow they’ve been captured weighing over 200 pounds! One of the largest freshwater fish in the world is found living in the waters of the Amazon River.

Cool Factoid: Did you know that bull sharks have been found in the Amazon River? Researchers have captured live bull sharks as far as 2,300 miles inland from the sea thriving in freshwater in the foothills of the Peruvian Andes. Amazon River drainage basin is the whole northern half of the continent of South America as a shallow dish or saucer. Whenever rain falls and lands anywhere in the river basin it all runs into the lowest place in the pan, which happens to be the Amazon River. The sheer volume of rain in the Amazon jungle and the slope of the surrounding land, combine to create the enormous river famous as the Amazon.

 Here's list of some species which can easily found at Amazon River. 

Violet-Fronted Brilliant

Tupi ‘red bird,’ also known as the scarlet ibis

Toucan

Tillandsia cyanea

The water lily (Victoria regia

Tapir

Striated Heron

Squirrel Monkey

Red-Bellied Piranhas

Piranha

Pink River Dolphins

Payara (Vampire Fish)

Palm Tanager in the Amazon

Masked Crimson Tanager

Pacu

Lily of the Amazon

Laguna

Godzilla.

Ginger Torch

Emerald Boa

Giant Otter

Electric Eels

Capped Heron

Alligators

Amazon Flower

Amazon Lily

Anaconda

Black Caiman

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Bull Sharks

Candiru

Capped Heron