Where is the source of the Orinoco River. Orinoco Basin: Wildlife of Venezuela. The geographical location of the river and its size

Geography

Orinoco(from the Spanish Orinoco) is a river flowing in South America. It mainly flows through the territory of Venezuela and flows into. The length of the river reaches 2736 km. The source of the Orinoco is Mount Delgado Chalbaud, near Parim, it is on the border with Brazil. From there, in a wide arc, it turns from the southwest to the west, then to the north, and finally to the northeast, where it flows into the Gulf of Laria of the Atlantic Ocean. Down the Orinoco River spreads into hundreds of branches, forming a delta, the area of ​​​​which is 41,000 km2. In floods, the width of the river reaches 22 km, and the depth is up to 100 meters. Navigable, oceangoing ships are able to reach Ciudad Bolívar, which is 435 km from the Atlantic Ocean, if you sail upstream. Orinoco crosses the subequatorial belt. Orinoco main food- rain, there are sharp fluctuations in water. During the dry season, some of the tributaries of this river become small stagnant lakes.

Delta Orinoco mostly inhabited by Warao Indians. This nationality ranks second in number, inhabiting Venezuela. Here you can get acquainted with the culture and customs of this people.

During the rainy season, usually between June and October, large areas are flooded with water, which leads to the formation of swamps. The local animal and bird world is very diverse. The most exotic species are found here, starting with the well-known anaconda and ending with the scarlet ibis.

Interesting Facts

• The Orinoco is a classic example of the bifurcation of rivers.
• The Orinoco is home to Amazonian dolphins.
• The Orinoco is home to Orinoco crocodiles, the rarest species of crocodiles.
• Orinoco stores the largest reserves of tar sands or, as it is also called, heavy oil.
• There are over 100 colonies of wading birds in the Orinoco Delta.

The Ohio River flows through the United States. It is a left tributary of the Mississippi River. Its length is 1580 km. The Ohio River Basin is formed by the confluence of the two rivers, the Allegheny and the Monongahila, which originate in the Appalachian Mountains. Thus, the area of ​​the basin is 528.1 thousand km2.
The river has several main tributaries. Of these, the right ones are the Miami, Wabash and Muskingham rivers, [...]

Orinoco river in South America, it is the first open river in the New World. When in 1498 Christopher Columbus saw the mouth of the Orinoco River, he was so struck by the beauty of these places that he decided that this was one of the four rivers of paradise. The Warao Indians greeted the sailors in a friendly manner. But the tradition of the Indians to wear gold jewelry played a cruel joke on them. The conquistadors, driven by the gold rush and dreams of the golden city of Eldorado, moved deeper and deeper along the river, destroying everything in their path. But they failed to find the mythical golden city.

Warao Indians still live in the Orinoco Delta. Their number becomes only 20 thousand people.

Warao is translated as "people of the boat", which is related to their way of life. More photos .

River length: 2736 kilometers.

Watershed area: 1,086,000 km. sq.

Where does it run: The Orinoco River originates near Mount Delgado Chalbaud in Venezuela, near the border with Brazil. From its source, the river flows in a wide arc around the Guiana Highlands. The river changes the direction of its flow from southwest to west, then flows to the north and, finally, already at the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean - to the northeast. The origins of the Orinoco remained unexplored until the middle of the twentieth century. In part, this is due to flooded forests, tributaries, rapids and waterfalls, which made it very difficult for researchers to access these places. To date, only two expeditions have been there. The Indians say that several small tribes still live at the headwaters of the Orinoco. They get their food exclusively by gathering and hunting and avoid any contact with the outside world.

Further downstream, the Orinoco forms the border between Venezuela and Colombia. During the dry season, the water recedes and you can see ancient drawings that are 3,000 years old. They are drawn by Indians from the Arawak tribe. Still further downstream, the river spills over a wide plain, here called Lanos. In these plains lies the meaning of the life of the Laneros - Venezuelan cowboys. Here they are engaged in cattle breeding. The Laneros are the descendants of the conquistadors, black slaves and hunters of the Indians who once inhabited these lands. At the city of Ciudad Bolivar, the river narrows, after which it flows again through a wide valley. The Orinoco is navigable from the delta all the way to Ciudad Bolivar.

In the lower reaches of the Orinoco, it branches into many branches and flows into the Atlantic Ocean, forming a large delta with an area of ​​41,000 km2. sq.

River mode: Orinoco feeds mainly on seasonal (mainly summer) rains, which causes uneven water flow. During summer floods, the river can be up to 22 km wide and 100 meters deep. During the dry season, small tributaries of the river turn into a chain of stagnant lakes. The average water consumption is 33,000 m3/s (varies depending on the season within 5-55 thousand m3/s). A feature of the river is a natural channel connecting the Orinoco and the Amazon - this is the Casiquiare River, which first branches off from the Orinoco, and then flows into the Rio Negro (one of the tributaries of the Amazon). Most of the Venezuelan rivers are tributaries of the Orinoco.

Main tributaries: Ventuari, Kaura, Caroni - right tributaries; Guaviare, Vichada, Meta, Arauca, Apure are left tributaries. On one of its tributaries, the Churun ​​River, there is the highest waterfall in the world - Angel.

Biological resources: Amazonian dolphins and the world's rarest species of crocodiles, the Orinoco crocodile, are found in the river; large capybara rodents can be found on the banks.

Watch the video clip: “Wild nature of Venezuela. Somewhere in the Orinoco Valleys

24.03.2014 09:22

The driver asked how we live there in Russia, because we have Putin, dictatorship and frio, mucho frio. I replied that we were all, only instead of frio - tormenting calories.

Wikipedia: (Spanish: Rio Orinoco) - a river in South America, flows mainly through Venezuela and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Length 2736 kilometers.

We're going to the delta Orinoco river, where we are waiting for the last three days of rest on this vacation. Are you still relaxing on the couch, in the country or on the sea? Stop doing stupid things! Rest in the jungle. Go!

We went from Ciudad Bolívar. On the way, the driver discussed cheap gasoline in Venezuela and the hard life in fraternal Cuba. And he somehow suddenly asked how we live there in Russia, because we have Putin, dictatorship and frio, mucho frio. I replied that we all heard the same thing about Venezuela, only instead of frio - a lot of calories.
“Mas o menos,” Giovanni said, and changed the subject to the weather)

The destination is getting closer, the radio of Trinidad and Tobago is already playing in the receiver.
On one of the bridges, the driver stopped the car and sent us to observe the life of real Indians. These are not country houses. This is how people live here.

A little more, and we got to the village of San José de Buja. This is the center of a small universe - a river port where you can take fuel for a boat, buy pasta and plastic basins. In general, from the point of view of an urban person - a hole in a hole.

But, for the local population, it is a portal connecting the Indian world with the so-called civilized world.
This portal, like all strategic objects, needs reliable protection. The guards work in several shifts - while some are roasting in the sun, others are resting in the shed.

Have you already remembered what is important in Venezuela? The main thing here is politics. It doesn't matter if the elections are in five years, in a week, tomorrow or yesterday. It is important to always remember who to vote for, to whom you owe everything, and how to behave so as not to upset the unforgettable Comandante Hugo Chavez - he always sees everything, even in the jungle, even at night!

river delta

We were met here by an Indian and explained that we had to wait for other vacationers. Half an hour later, a car pulled up. “Other vacationers” turned out to be our old friend Izzy, with whom we drove to, and whom we said goodbye to yesterday at))

Now everyone is ready to move to the camp. Our boat rushes along the water surface with a breeze, but periodically drops the speed to almost zero. The fact is that the majority of the local population moves on rowing canoes, and if you rush past them on a motorboat, they will simply be overwhelmed by a wave.

So, at the fork, or rather at the confluence of two rivers in the middle of the swamp, a pier was discovered. This is our home for the next three days - Eco Camp.

The camp really stands on a swamp, into which wooden piles have been hammered and a floor of boards has been laid. That is, it will not work to leave the territory of the camp on foot. We're trapped)
Okay, let's settle down, get acquainted with the inhabitants of the camp.

This is the owner of the camp. Unfortunately, I don’t remember his name, but he is the most native inhabitant here. There is still a noisy chicken running around here from the locals, but it is completely stupid, and therefore it was not included in this review)

The parrot hails from the harsh jungle, so even his gaze should inspire fear in potential enemies. But, depending on how he looks at you, he can look like a vicious warrior or a fluffy cat.

Here he is with his best friend. When the girl has lunch, the parrot always sits next to her and helps. How touching this spectacle, I can not describe in words.

In addition to birds, three dogs and three cats also live here. In general, there is always someone to talk to.
When fresh tourists are brought in, Indians come to the camp and sell their bracelet beads. Everything is made from what the jungle gives - no synthetics, and the prices are lower than in the city.

Having played enough with the dogs, we go to move into the apartments.

In the description that Thomas sent us, it says that we will live in "comfortable wooden cabins".
In short, it looks like this. Palm leaf roof, palm leaf curtain entrance, wooden floor. On four wooden chocks in the middle of the room stands a mattress, around which a mosquito net is stretched. Nearby is another stylized stool where you can light a candle in the evening. There is no wall opposite the entrance at all - there is a jungle.

The guide, conducting a tour of the camp, asked us not to forget to lock the doors if we leave the house for a long time. They are strange people - they give out the keys, but there are no locks ...

What is there to do here? First, eat well. Not that there would be exquisite restaurant food here, no, everything here is home-style, but tasty and almost unlimited - you go to the pots and put as much as you want.

Before lunch, you can take a canoe trip, paddle a little, and admire the purest waters of the river, in which bright flowers are reflected.

And after dinner, be sure to swing in a hammock and cuddle the dog. Then you can safely jump into the boat to drive to the dacha - well, where the beds, greenhouses, all sorts of chickens graze.
Dacha is just a suggestion. The main goal, of course, is observation of nature.

Toucans sit on trees.

Peacocks and other birds. There are thousands of them (without exaggeration), and they are all different.

Macaws fly in flocks.

Monkeys jump up the trees. They are very hard to spot. Only in the morning at dawn, when the jungle wakes up, they cheerfully jump along the branches and watch the tourists with interest.

Bushes bloom along the shore.

And the turtles relax on the snags.

Usually tourists take sticks with them to the boat to fight off crocodiles and anacondas, but our guide Antonio said that all this evil creeps in the dry season, when there is not enough water in the swamps. At such a time, we have to evacuate or additionally protect the farm to which we are sailing - snakes steal piglets.

And here is the cottage. Here is some young hemp forest. What is this plant? It is grown in many places in Cuba and in Cuba.

There are also many fruit trees, but we could only eat a green orange. Everything else will be, you guessed it, manana. Not even manyana, but after a few months or even years. The garden is still very young.

An ownerless watermelon was found in the grass, Antonio took out a machete and chopped it into pieces. We ate and went for a walk.

Orinoco River on the map

At sunset, as is customary in Latin America, they drank cuba libre, sang songs about Che Guevara and caught piranhas for lard. This time we did not succeed, only the experienced Antonio pulled out a couple of predatory fish.

We returned home at night.

Australian Ron, who, as it turned out, has been traveling in South America for more than a year, decided to stay here for a month as a volunteer, tell tourists about local beauties, study nature and wait for his plane to Europe, showed us where the spiders live. It turns out that in one of the palm trees (at least one :)), standing right in the center of the camp, such wonderful creatures live, the size of a palm.

A generator runs in the camp for a couple of hours after sunset. During this time, you need to have time to have dinner, swing in a hammock and cuddle dogs. And then the light goes out.

Torches are lit along the “paths”, and people go to their huts to sleep.

What is the jungle at night? You can, of course, watch some BBC film about the jungle, but this is all nonsense. You will watch a movie at home on the couch and feel nothing. The jungle at night is warm, a little stuffy, a little foggy. The night jungle is sounds: screams, rustles, creaks, murmurs and ringing silence, in which your every movement is heard.

River

You can look into the darkness for a long time, looking for moths flashing for a moment, listening, in the end, to the flow of water from the toilet and drawing in your imagination sneaking predators and reptiles. At the same time, every minute you need to smear with different dichlorvos so as not to be eaten by mosquitoes.

And the worst thing that I had to face on the first night, not even a black cat at the entrance to the hut, but a tide - the water in the river rose to such a level that our camp footbridge slightly rose above the water. What if the water continues to rise at night? And in general, when I went to bed, I could not fall asleep for a long time due to the fact that a huge (well, not very huge by local standards - 40 centimeters) splashed under the bed.

In the morning, you usually wake up from the fact that a crazy chicken has climbed into the hut, which for some reason is chasing a cat sleeping in your fleece. But this time we were awakened by a terrifying noise. It's terrible that you don't understand what it is. Some kind of endless test of the Soviet system for alerting citizens about an emergency. Antonio to the natural question "WHAT IS THIS???" answered - "Monkeys". We did not believe him and went to the Indians, who confirmed the guide's version. I am afraid to imagine a picture of what is happening in the jungle and how many of these monkeys are there.

In general, the jungle is not as scary as it seems at first glance - they are interesting. We have never encountered this, and the way a person works is that due to a lack of knowledge, he begins to be afraid of everything. I think our cities are perceived as much more terrible than the jungle if you bring Indians into them, for whom the jungle is their home.

(Rio Orinoco) is one of the largest rivers in South America.

Before breakfast, we went boating again, watched the monkeys, and there were at least two species of them - capuchins and some redheads a little larger in size. Well, as usual - thousands of birds. In addition, we were chased by two dogs, who desperately swam after our boat. We were very worried about them - we are afraid of crocodiles, boas and piranhas ...

After breakfast, Ron showed me the bats hiding behind a tree from the sun. And last night, I thought it was butterflies flying over our heads)

By the way, Ron was very fond of the Indians working in the camp. Well, imagine if a foreigner came to visit you with a name, for example, "Vodka" :)

At the beginning of today's story, there is a photograph showing rubber boots being dried. They are there, you guessed it, for a reason. Now we will go for a walk in the jungle on foot.

In the forest, even during the day, it is always twilight, and the thickets are often so dense that if you fall behind 5 meters, you may no longer find a guide.
Everything, absolutely all plants in the jungle are very important and necessary. There is not a single blade of grass that would not be useful - they build houses out of something, make clothes, mosquito nets or hammocks out of something, kill with something, and treat with something. This tree is used for communication. If you hit it with a machete, it sounds like a drum. A boa constrictor is strangling you, and you are tapping out SOS for the whole forest - fellow tribesmen will hear, come running, save you, and the boa constrictor will be fried and eaten - a holiday in the family)

And this is a termite.
- Feel it, taste it! It's very tasty, like a tree! Antonio says.

For about an hour we walked, chopped vines, ate coconuts and berries, looked for scorpions and snakes (we didn’t find them). And then Antonio confessed - we got lost. The most annoying thing is that it is impossible to understand whether the guide is joking or telling the truth. In general, we soon found ourselves, saw our boat. There was only one problem - we were separated by a swamp. After trying various methods, we came to the conclusion that you need to jump over, grabbing the vine.

Everyone drowned except me)

Saved - everyone is alive. And we unanimously celebrated each successful rescue by hunting for piranhas. Some even managed to catch it. If you catch normal Orthodox fish in normal Soviet reservoirs, then you need to observe silence so as not to frighten away the fish. Here, the opposite is true, having planted a bloody piece of meat on the hook, you need to tap the water well with the fishing rod so that the piranhas pay attention to you, after which you can cast.

I caught my only piranha from the pier in the camp. The fish jumped off the hook, fell on the boards, and was immediately grabbed and dragged away by a cat on duty nearby. This is such a sad story.

Most of the time they lie in hammocks.
Sometimes, when tourists come, they try to sell them something. For example, a hammock.

At this time, the mythical older brothers are hunting mythical copybaras and anacondas somewhere.

And when you're tired of everything, you can watch TV.

Hugo was a real politician. He relied on the illiterate impoverished population, to whom he gave the necessary minimum of the benefits of civilization, sufficient for him (about Hugo) to be known. He extended the television network to the jungle, gave the population televisions and electricity generators so they could listen to his daily speeches.

In addition, if I understand correctly, each family has the right to choose whether to send one child to the city to study, or to get a motor for a boat. This is true freedom of choice. Now almost every big family has a motor!

Well, when the TV is turned off, you can study offline propaganda pasted on poles.

The Orinoco River is one of the largest rivers in South America. Its length is 2410 km, and the catchment area covers 880 thousand square meters. km. At the same time, 76.3% of the area falls on Venezuela, and the rest on Colombia. The water flow bends around Venezuela in a wide arc and flows into the Atlantic Ocean near the island of Trinidad, forming a huge delta at the mouth. This is the most important transport artery in the north of South America.

From source to mouth

The river flow begins its journey on the Parima mountain range, (Guiana Plateau) at an altitude of 1047 meters above sea level. These are the foothills of Mount Delgado-Chalbaud. The range serves as a natural watershed between the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. The source is located in Venezuela very close to the border with Brazil.

The path of the water flow is an ellipsoidal arc, enveloping the Guiana Plateau from the west. The whole river is divided into 4 sections of different lengths. These are upper, middle, lower and delta.

Orinoco River on the map of South America

Upper section has a length of about 250 km. It stretches from its source to the rapids of Raudalis de Guaharibos. It is a mountainous area, and the water flows in a northwesterly direction.

Middle section is approximately 750 km long. For the first 480 km, the river flows west until such rivers as the Atabapo from the east and the Guaviare from the west flow into it. Near the city of San Fernando de Atabapo, the water stream turns north and flows 270 km along the Venezuelan-Colombian border. Near the city of Puerto Carreño, the lower section begins after the confluence of the Meta rivers from the west and Puerto Carreño from the east.

lower section reaches a length of almost 1000 km. It is characterized by a well-developed floodplain, and the water moves in a northeasterly direction. This section ends near the town of Barrancas.

Delta has a length of 200 km. Its area is 41 thousand square meters. km. At its widest point, its width reaches 370 km. It represents a whole network of narrow rivers and streams flowing to the ocean among swampy forests.

Aerial view of river delta

During the rainy season, the river can overflow up to 22 km wide. At the same time, the depth in some places reaches 100 meters. But in the dry season, the water level drops, and many islands appear on the surface of the river, and some channels turn into lakes.

Connection with the Amazon

From Orinoco you can get to the Amazon, since there is a natural connection between the two water basins. It is carried out through the Casiquiare River (326 km in length). It represents a branch of the river we are considering in its upper section, flows south and flows into the Rio Negro. This full-flowing stream is a tributary of the Amazon.

Shipping

The water stream is navigable for most of its length. Ocean vessels, due to the deepening of the bottom, reach the city of Ciudad Bolivar. It is 435 km upstream from the coast. Riverboats carry cargo to Puerto Ayacucho.

Pink river dolphin

Animal world

River dolphins and giant otters are found in the river. Also inhabited by one of the rarest reptiles in the world, the Orinoco crocodile. There are over 1000 species of fish. Some of them live only in brackish or salty water near the mouth. Black piranhas and cardinal tetras are also common in the water. The latter fish is very popular in home aquariums, but its original homeland is Rio Negro, which once again confirms the connection with the Amazon.

Minerals

In 1926, the richest deposits of iron ore were discovered in the river area. Its mass production began in the second half of the last century. River sediments contain bituminous (oil) sand. In the future, it may become a source of oil production.

Such settlements are still found along the shores.

History reference

For the first time, the Orinoco River was officially documented by Columbus in August 1498 during his 3rd voyage. The delta and tributaries up to the Meta River were explored in the 16th century by a German expedition led by Ambrosius Ehinger. In 1531, Diego de Ordaz sailed from the confluence of the Meta tributary to the mouth. In 1800, Alexander von Humboldt, who explored the basin, reported pink river dolphins. Singer Enya created the song "Orinoco Stream", dedicated to an exotic river flowing through the northern lands of South America.