The Orinoco () is one of the longest in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the world by discharge volume of water (39,000 m3/s at Orinoco Delta) due to the high precipitation throughout its catchment area (ca 2,300 mm/a). The Orinoco River and its tributaries are the major transportation system for eastern and interior Venezuela and the Llanos of Colombia. The environment and wildlife in the Orinoco's basin are extremely diverse.[Supplement of ]
Etymology
The river's name is derived from the
Warao language 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 was documented by Christopher Columbus on 1 August 1498, during his third voyage. Its source at the Cerro Delgado–Chalbaud, in the
Parima Mountains, was not explored until 453 years later, in 1951. The source, near the Venezuelan–
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 such as the Apure River and Meta River, were explored in the 16th century by German expeditions under Ambrosius Ehinger and his successors. In 1531, starting at the principal outlet in the delta, the Boca de Navios, Diego de Ordaz sailed up the river to the Meta. Antonio de Berrio sailed down the Casanare River 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, the Englishman Sir Walter Raleigh sailed down the river, reaching the Llanos.
From April to May 1800, the Prussian-born Alexander von Humboldt and his companion, Aime Bonpland, explored stretches of the Orinoco, supported by indigenous helpers and guided by his interest to prove that South America's waterways formed an interconnected system from the Andes to the Amazon.[Helferich, Gerard (2004) Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American Journey that Changed the Way We See the World, Gotham Books, New York; .]
The sources of the Orinoco River, located at Cerro Carlos Delgado Chalbaud (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 Parima Mountains near the border with Brazil, headed by Venezuelan army officer Frank Risquez Iribarren.[Alberto Contramaestre Torres. Expedición a las fuentes del Orinoco. Caracas, 1954.][Pablo J. Anduce. Shailili-Ko. Descubrimiento de las fuentes del Orinoco. Caracas: Talleres Gráficos Ilustraciones S.A., 1960.]
The first bridge across the Orinoco River, the Angostura Bridge at Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela, was completed in 1967.
In 1968, an expedition was set off by The Geographical Journal and Hovercraft from Manaus (Brazil) to Port of Spain (Trinidad). Aboard a SR.N6 hovercraft, the expedition members followed the Negro river upstream to where it is joined by the Casiquiare canal, on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. After following the Casiquiare to the Orinoco River they hovered thru perilous rapids of the rivers 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 series The World About Us 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 and Ciudad Guayana), 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, Venezuela.
Geography
The course of the Orinoco forms a wide ellipsoidal arc, surrounding the
Guiana Shield; 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 River and Guaviare River 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 at Puerto Carreño
-
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 river delta, 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, close to the Llovizna Falls. A peculiarity of the Orinoco river system is the Casiquiare canal, which starts as an arm of the Orinoco, and finds its way to the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon River, thus forming a 'natural canal' between Orinoco and Amazon.
The stream gradient 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
Major rivers in the Orinoco Basin
-
Apure River: from Venezuela through the east into the Orinoco
-
Arauca River: from Colombia to Venezuela east into the Orinoco
-
Atabapo River: from the Guiana Shield of Venezuela north into the Orinoco
-
Caroní: from the Guiana Highlands of Venezuela north into the Orinoco
-
Casiquiare canal: in SE Venezuela, a distributary 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 River: from Colombia east into the Orinoco
-
Inírida: from Colombia southeast into the Guaviare.
-
Meta River: from Colombia, border with Venezuela east into the Orinoco
-
Ventuari River: from eastern Venezuela (the Guiana Highlands) southwest into the Orinoco
-
Vichada River: from Colombia east into the Orinoco
Discharge
[[Ciudad Guayana/" itemprop="url" title="Wiki: ciudad_guayana">
<hr class="us2411627114">
<span class="us3003804241 us1353177739">[[Ciudad Guayana">ciudad_guayana">
[[Ciudad Guayana
| +Monthly average discharge m3/s (period 1996 to 1998) |
|
| JAN | 17,627 | 24,386 | 10,919 | 16,661 |
| FEB | 14,486 | 17,144 | 7,583 | 10,108 |
| MAR | 15,334 | 15,767 | 8,906 | 7,702 |
| APR | 12,514 | 12,615 | 12,411 | 10,609 |
| MAY | 23,670 | 25,152 | 32,751 | 26,317 |
| JUN | 45,781 | 43,142 | 49,062 | 45,179 |
| JUL | 61,177 | 55,597 | 63,659 | 58,412 |
| AUG | 67,639 | 61,275 | 67,756 | 64,975 |
| SEP | 65,933 | 53,825 | 66,416 | 63,244 |
| OCT | 57,912 | 38,742 | 54,189 | 53,201 |
| NOV | 45,267 | 28,372 | 38,345 | 40,805 |
| DEC | 36,094 | 21,116 | 30,130 | 29,229 |
| |
| Mean | 38,620 | 33,094 | 36,844 | 35,537 |
Source: |
Ciudad Bolívar
| +Minimum and maximum discharge m3/s (period 2000 to 2023) |
|
| 2000 | 4,799 | 33,415 | 67,667 | 2012 | 7,805 | 38,685 | 77,909 |
| 2001 | 3,438 | 25,695 | 59,527 | 2013 | 5,581 | 32,041 | 65,850 |
| 2002 | 3,868 | 34,002 | 74,367 | 2014 | 4,364 | 31,632 | 71,214 |
| 2003 | 3,287 | 34,728 | 74,367 | 2015 | 5,725 | 29,476 | 71,136 |
| 2004 | 4,071 | 35,717 | 74,208 | 2016 | 3,514 | 35,474 | 78,398 |
| 2005 | 5,439 | 31,980 | 64,800 | 2017 | 7,520 | 34,302 | 77,315 |
| 2006 | 6,521 | 35,901 | 77,422 | 2018 | 4,693 | 36,467 | 82,611 |
| 2007 | 3,949 | 34,477 | 71,527 | 2019 | 4,846 | 32,017 | 72,203 |
| 2008 | 4,754 | 32,378 | 70,536 | 2020 | 4,570 | 28,915 | 63,638 |
| 2009 | 7,419 | 26,041 | 59,671 | 2021 | 7,279 | 39,378 | 74,873 |
| 2010 | 3,067 | 35,286 | 75,807 | 2022 | 6,463 | 39,094 | 75,912 |
| 2011 | 6,368 | 37,957 | 74,367 | 2023 | 8,377 | 32,523 | 68,742 |
Source: |
| +Monthly average discharge m3/s (period 2018 to 2023) |
|
| JAN | 11,009 | 8,955 | 13,667 | 19,108 | 11,067 | 14,528 | 11,637 |
| FEB | 7,593 | 6,414 | 7,142 | 9,554 | 6,463 | 9,412 | 6,840 |
| MAR | 4,693 | 4,846 | 4,570 | 7,279 | 10,187 | 8,377 | 5,521 |
| APR | 6,862 | 5,634 | 5,080 | 16,378 | 13,860 | 10,036 | 7,347 |
| MAY | 27,262 | 17,343 | 11,688 | 33,363 | 28,156 | 19,290 | 20,295 |
| JUN | 46,541 | 36,447 | 29,204 | 63,086 | 50,344 | 41,963 | 39,205 |
| JUL | 73,295 | 57,240 | 42,542 | 68,208 | 68,499 | 59,398 | 57,550 |
| AUG | 82,611 | 72,203 | 57,742 | 74,873 | 75,912 | 68,742 | 69,207 |
| SEP | 70,591 | 69,859 | 63,638 | 68,441 | 73,589 | 67,129 | 66,502 |
| OCT | 50,838 | 48,298 | 50,060 | 53,294 | 54,020 | 52,622 | 51,206 |
| NOV | 34,852 | 34,644 | 36,926 | 36,518 | 45,509 | 23,332 | 35,752 |
| DEC | 21,457 | 22,317 | 24,718 | 22,437 | 31,527 | 15,450 | 22,974 |
| |
| Mean | 36,467 | 32,017 | 28,915 | 39,378 | 39,094 | 32,523 | 32,836 |
Source: |
| +Average discharge m3/s (complete series period 1926 to 2023) |
|
| 1926 | 23,376 | 1959 | 30,333 | 1992 | 28,571 |
| 1927 | 37,476 | 1960 | 31,818 | 1993 | 35,204 |
| 1928 | 32,838 | 1961 | 27,830 | 1994 | 35,110 |
| 1929 | 32,653 | 1962 | 32,930 | 1995 | 29,360 |
| 1930 | 30,610 | 1963 | 32,560 | 1996 | 35,992 |
| 1931 | 33,766 | 1964 | 27,736 | 1997 | 28,757 |
| 1932 | 33,302 | 1965 | 27,643 | 1998 | 35,000 |
| 1933 | 32,792 | 1966 | 29,220 | 1999 | 34,925 |
| 1934 | 34,137 | 1967 | 34,323 | 2000 | 33,415 |
| 1935 | 31,168 | 1968 | 32,280 | 2001 | 25,695 |
| 1936 | 31,260 | 1969 | 32,606 | 2002 | 34,002 |
| 1937 | 29,962 | 1970 | 34,600 | 2003 | 34,728 |
| 1938 | 37,383 | 1971 | 33,673 | 2004 | 35,717 |
| 1939 | 28,292 | 1972 | 36,177 | 2005 | 31,980 |
| 1940 | 25,232 | 1973 | 27,597 | 2006 | 35,901 |
| 1941 | 28,200 | 1974 | 26,344 | 2007 | 34,477 |
| 1942 | 31,540 | 1975 | 29,313 | 2008 | 32,378 |
| 1943 | 38,403 | 1976 | 37,290 | 2009 | 26,041 |
| 1944 | 34,878 | 1977 | 30,705 | 2010 | 35,286 |
| 1945 | 33,395 | 1978 | 32,514 | 2011 | 37,957 |
| 1946 | 36,363 | 1979 | 32,885 | 2012 | 38,685 |
| 1947 | 30,426 | 1980 | 35,018 | 2013 | 32,041 |
| 1948 | 31,818 | 1981 | 38,080 | 2014 | 31,632 |
| 1949 | 32,745 | 1982 | 36,224 | 2015 | 29,476 |
| 1950 | 32,096 | 1983 | 36,130 | 2016 | 35,474 |
| 1951 | 38,220 | 1984 | 31,493 | 2017 | 34,302 |
| 1952 | 33,858 | 1985 | 30,380 | 2018 | 36,467 |
| 1953 | 36,177 | 1986 | 35,040 | 2019 | 32,017 |
| 1954 | 38,310 | 1987 | 34,090 | 2020 | 28,915 |
| 1955 | 31,076 | 1988 | 30,472 | 2021 | 39,378 |
| 1956 | 36,734 | 1989 | 29,638 | 2022 | 39,094 |
| 1957 | 29,128 | 1990 | 33,442 | 2023 | 32,523 |
| 1958 | 28,108 | 1991 | 31,770 | 2024 | |
Source: |
Ecology
The
boto and the
giant otter inhabit the Orinoco River system.
[WWF: Orinoco River Basin, South America. Retrieved 24 May 2014] The Orinoco crocodile 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 Endemism.[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 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.
Economic activity
The river is navigable for most of its length, and
dredging enables ocean ships to go as far as Ciudad Bolívar, at the confluence of the Caroní River, upstream. River steamers carry cargo as far as
Puerto Ayacucho and the Atures Rapids.
El Florero iron mine
In 1926, a Venezuelan mining inspector found one of the richest
iron ore 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, 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.
[ "Venezuela's Magnetic Mountain" Popular Mechanics, July 1949]
Tar sands
The Orinoco River deposits also contain extensive
tar sands in the
Orinoco Belt, which may be a source of future oil production.
Eastern Venezuelan basin
Encompassing the states of
Anzoategui-
Guarico and
Monagas states, the Interior Range forms the northern boundary and the
Guayana Shield 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 shallow marine in an foreland basin.][
]
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 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.
In culture
The Irish singer and songwriter Enya wrote and sang the song "Orinoco Flow", which she released in 1988.
See also
-
Adaheli, the Sun in the mythology of the Orinoco region
-
Fishes of the Orinoco in the Wild (2020) book
-
"Orinoco Flow" – the song uses the Orinoco and its environs as a theme for its lyrics
Notes
-
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 and a detailed description of the Venezuelan Pitch Lake 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.
-
Rawlins, C.B. (1999). The Orinoco River. New York: Franklin Watts.
-
Triana, S. Pérez. Down the Orinoco in a Canoe
-
Weibezahn, F.H., Haymara, A. and M.W. Lewis (1990). The Orinoco River as an ecosystem. Caracas: Universidad Simon Bolivar.
External links
