The Orinoco
Delta, also known as
the Deltaic System (Sistema Deltaico),
is a vast river delta of the Orinoco
River, located in eastern Venezuela.
The
Orinoco Delta is fan-shaped, formed
by the Orinoco River as it splits
into numerous distributaries,
called caños, which meander
through the delta on their way
to the sea. The main distributary
is called the Rio Grande, which
empties south-southeast through
the southern portion of the delta,
and the second major distributary
is Caño Manamo, which runs
northward along the western edge
of the delta.
The delta includes large
areas of permanent wetlands as well
as seasonally-flooded freshwater swamp
forests. The river margins of the
delta are fringed with mangroves.
Besides, daily tides bring up the
"caños" sea water
which is responsible for the "macareo"
or pororoca and also for inversion
of flow direction of water, at least,
on its surface.
The Orinoco Delta is
characterized by being non-centric,
lagoon lacking, and oceanic, somewhat
similar to the delta of the Niger
River. It is divided in two sections:
the principal, at the northernmost
part of the system, located between
Caño Manamo and the left shore
of Caño Araguao, where the
majority of villages are established,
including the state capital, Tucupita;
and the secondary, between the right
shore of Caño Araguao and Río
Grande.
The Deltaic System is
one of the nine geographical regions
into which Venezuela is divided. It
is located in the whole extension
of Delta Amacuro State and a few kilometers
of Monagas State, comprehending the
totality of the mouths of the Orinoco.[3]
Orinoco
River
The Orinoco is one of
the longest rivers in South America
at 2,140 km, (1,330 miles). Its drainage
basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia
(especially in Colombia) covers 880,000
km², 76.3% in Venezuela with the
rest in Colombia. The Orinoco and its
tributaries are the major transportation
system for eastern and interior Venezuela
and the llanos of Colombia. However,
since river navigation is declining
in every country, many of the old waterways
along the Orinoco watershed are now
an obstacle to land communications rather
than a useful.
Although the mouth of
the Orinoco in the Atlantic Ocean was
discovered by Columbus on 1 August 1498
during his third voyage, its source
at the Cerro Delgado-Chalbaud, in the
Parima range, on the Venezuelan-Brazilian
border, at 1,047 m of elevation (02°19'05?N
63°21'42?W? / ?2.31806°N 63.36167°W?
/ 2.31806; -63.36167 ), was only explored
in 1951, 453 years later, by a joint
Venezuelan-French team.
The Orinoco delta, and
tributaries in the eastern llanos such
as the Apure and Meta, were explored
in the 16th century by German expeditions
under Ambrosius Ehinger and his successors.
In 1531 Diego de Ordaz, starting at
the principal outlet in the delta, the
Boca de Navios, sailed up the river
to the Meta, and Antonio de Berrio sailed
down the Casanare, to the Meta, and
then down the Orinoco and back to Coro.
Alexander von Humboldt
explored the basin in 1800, reporting
on the pink river dolphins, and publishing
extensively on the flora and fauna.[4]
Astronaut
Photography of Earth
The Orinoco
River, the world’s eighth
largest river, can be seen flowing
to the west and north of the Guyana
Highlands in the top portion of
the image. The river is located
in the Llanos of western Venezuela.
Estimated to be 1500 to 1700 miles
(2415 to 2735 km) long, the Orinoco
River is the second longest river
in South America and is navigable
for most of its length. The river
rises in the southern Guyana Highlands
and flows in a wide arc around the
highlands through tropical rainforests
and savannas. It enters the Atlantic
Ocean through a large, expanding
delta in northeast Venezuela. The
Capanaparo River is visible entering
the scene just to the right of the
bottom center of the image.
It empties into the
Orinoco River near the center of
the image. The Capanaparo River
is 300 miles (480 km) long and rises
in the eastern foothills of the
Andes Mountains. The river flows
generally eastward across the plain,
which has a flat, swampy terrain.
Numerous old sand dunes, many with
grass cover, can be seen on either
side of the river. Near the left
center of the image, the Cinaruco
River can be seen entering the Orinoco
River. Just above the left center
of the image, the Arauca River is
visible entering the Orinoco.
[5]
