Canaima National Park

History

Canaima National Park was established on 12 June 1962. As early as 1990, the countries that participate in the Amazonian Cooperation Treaty had recommended expanding the Canaima National Park southward to connect it with Monte Roraima National Park in Brazil, with coordinated management of tourism, research and conservation.

In 1994, the Canaima National Park was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The International Union for Conservation of Nature performed a conservation assessment in 2017, which listed Canaima National Park as an area of significant concern, citing ineffective protection and management.

Location

Canaima National Park is the second largest park in Venezuela, after Parima-Tapirapecó, and sixth biggest national park in the world. It is roughly the same size as Belgium or Maryland. The park protects part of the Guayanan Highlands moist forests ecoregion.

About 65% of the park is occupied by plateaus of rock called tepuis, which are a kind of table-top mountain millions of years old, with vertical walls and almost flat tops. These constitute a unique biological environment and are also of great geological interest. Their sheer cliffs and waterfalls including Angel Falls, which is the highest waterfall in the world, at 979 m.

The most famous tepuis in the park are Mount Roraima, the tallest and easiest to climb, and Auyantepui, the site of Angel Falls. The tepuis are sandstone and date back to a time when South America and Africa were part of a super-continent.

The park is home to indigenous Pemon Indians, part of the Carib linguistic group. The Pemon have an intimate relationship with the tepuis, and believe they are the home of the 'Mawari' spirits. The park is relatively remote, with only a few roads connecting towns. Most transport within the park is done by light plane from the airstrips built by various Capuchin missions, or by foot and canoe.

Fauna

Canaima has a varied fauna, which is distributed throughout the park according to multiple environmental factors such as altitude and vegetation type. Among the species found are:

• Giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus)
• Giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)
• Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)
• Cougar (Puma concolor)
• Jaguar (Panthera onca)
• Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus)
• White-faced saki (Pithecia pithecia)
• Brown-backed bearded saki (Chiropotes israelita)
• Roraima mouse (Podoxymys roraimae)
• Tyleria mouse opossum (Marmosa tyleriana)
• Harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja)
• Red-shouldered macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis)
• Dusky parrot (Pionus fuscus)
• Yellow-banded poison dart frog (Dendrobates leucomelas)
• [[File:ParqueNacionalCanaima.png|thumb|Map showing the location and extension of the Canaima National Park. 2: Bolivar State, 1: Canaima National Park]]Green iguana (Iguana iguana)
• Hummingbirds (Trochilinae)
• Toucans (Ramphastidae)
• South American bushmaster (Lachesis muta)
• Green acouchi (Myoprocta pratti)
• Bush dog (Speothos venaticus) Canaima National Park is among one of several dozen regions in Venezuela that has been identified as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBAs) by BirdLife International, a global cooperative of non-governmental organizations focused on the conservation of the world’s birds and their natural habitats.

Flora

There are over 300 botanical species endemic only to La Gran Sabana. Some endemic plant species are categorized as "carnivorous," which are thus the food supply (mainly insects) that are so scarce in the mountains.

• Endemic flora includes Achnopogon, Adenanthe, Chimantaea, Mallophyton, Quelchia, Tepuia.
• Endemic carnivorous plants include the Heliamphora (South American pitcher plants) and Brocchinia (a type of bromeliad), as well as several local species of Drosera (sundews), Genlisea (corkscrew plants) and Utricularia (bladderworts).

Hydrography

The park includes the entire watershed of the right bank of the Caroní River and two of the highest waterfalls in the world, Angel Falls and the Kukenán, as well as plenty of waterfalls of lower altitude.

Land forms

The only land form are the tepuis, that are plateaus which are unique features, among which are its vertical and nearly flat tops, although there are several tepuis that do not meet these rules. Geologically they are remnants of a sedimentary cover composed of very ancient sandstone that is superimposed on a base of igneous rocks (mainly granite) that is even older (nearly three billion years).

Their summits are home to a substantial amount of specific endemic species, both plant and animal. These have a geological formations ranging between 1.5 and 2 billion years, which makes them one of the oldest formations in the world.Otto Huber and John J. Wurdack (1984) History of Botanical Exploration in Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela. Smithsonian Institution Press, City of Washington.

Tourist attractions

Western Sector

Eastern Sector

As of 1993, Canaima National Park was reported to receive approximately 100,000 tourists every year, with 90% visiting its plateaus. Only a select few of its tepuis are accessible to visitors, with those including Roraima and Auyán-tepui. Angel Falls is also a popular tourist spot, where visitors can canoe through the park’s vast rainforest.

Archaeology

Pictographic rock art belonging to an obscure culture was found. The sites are estimated to be 4 to 7 thousand years old, long predating the arrival of the Pemon.

Popular culture

Canaima is the name given to the fictional Californian coastal town (which was filmed in Cambria, California) where the movie Arachnophobia is supposed to take place. The introductory and jungle scenes of the movie were filmed in the national park.

Gallery

Image:Carrao river and tepuys.jpg|from left: Kurun tepui, Kusari tepui and Kuravaina tepui Image:Kukenantepuyvenezuela.jpg| Kukenán-tepui view from base Image:Salto Angel - Cañon del Diablo.JPG|Rio Churun devils canyon and Angel Falls Image:Salto Chirimata en Venezuela y la Serra do Sol de fondo en Brasil.jpg|Uei-tepui and Chirimata Falls Image:Mount Roraima, Venezuela (12371474504).jpg|Mount Roraima Image:Yuruani tepuy y rio - Gran sabana.jpg|Yuruaní River and Yuruaní-tepui Image:Ilú-tepui - southeastern face.JPG|Ilú-tepui Image:Wadaka pia pu tepuy.jpg| Wadakapiapué-tepui and Ilú–tepui Image:Wadakapiapo Yuruani tepuy 2010.jpg|Yuruaní-tepui and Wadakapiapué-tepui Image:Jaspe Completa.JPG|Jasper Creek Image:Kukenan Tepuy at Sunset.jpg|Kukenán-tepui Image:Termiteros Gran Sabana.jpg|La Gran Sabana Image:Salto Kamá 2.jpg|Kamá Falls Image:Canaima (Fabrizio Morroia).jpg|Waterfalls of Canaima Image:Kukenam-Tepui.jpg|Kukenan Tepui Image:Laguna la Piscina.JPG|Pozo Azul Image:Gran Sabana, Rio.JPG|River in the Gran Sabana Image:Way to Salto del Angel, Canaima - panoramio (24).jpg|Churun River Image:Salto angel descubierto.jpg|Salto Angel aerial view Image:SaltoAngel1.jpg|Angel Falls as seen from base Image:Laguna-de-Canaima.jpg|Canaima Lake and Ucaima Waterfalls Image:Kavac-2023.jpg|Kavac caves Image:Salto-El-Hacha-2023.jpg|El Hacha falls Image:Salto-El-Hacha-y-Ucaima.jpg|El Hacha and Ucaima falls. Carrao river and Canaima Lagoon

References

References

1. (1994). "Protecting Nature: Regional Reviews of Protected Areas". IUCN.
2. Sears, Robin. "South America: Southern Venezuela, northern Brazil, western Guyana, and eastern Colombia (NT0124)". WWF: World Wildlife Fund.
3. (2020). "Baseline for monitoring and habitat use of medium to large non-volant mammals in Gran Sabana, Venezuela". link. Therya
4. Lindsay Elms. [http://members.shaw.ca/beyondnootka/articles/roraima.html "Mount Roraima: An Island Forgotten by Time"]. Accessed 11 December 2022.
5. UNEP-WCMC. (2017-05-22). "CANAIMA NATIONAL PARK".
6. "Canaima National Park (Official GANP Park Page)".
7. "Mysterious rock art in Venezuela hints at little-known ancient culture".
8. "Filming Locations for Arachnophobia (1990), in Cambria, Central California and Venezuela.".