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26-622: The city of Puerto Ayacucho was founded to facilitate the transport of goods past the Atures Rapids on the Orinoco River in the late 19th century (mostly rubber ). The Atures Municipality, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, has a population of 91,386 (up from 74,066 in 2000). This amounts to 64.3% of the state's population. The municipality's population density

52-573: A paraphyletic group, defined largely by their evolutionary convergences . The genus Sotalia is divided into two species . The costero ( S. guianensis ) is distributed in the Atlantic, from Florianópolis in Santa Catarina, Brazil , and northwards. The tucuxi ( S. fluviatilis ) lives in the rivers of the Amazon. Burmeister's porpoise is marine and lives from Santa Catarina to

78-669: A single parish). This article related to a location in Amazonas State, Venezuela is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Orinoco The Orinoco ( Spanish pronunciation: [oɾiˈnoko] ) is one of the longest rivers in South America at 2,140 km (1,330 mi). Its drainage basin , sometimes known as the Orinoquia , covers ca 1 million km , with 65% of it in Venezuela and

104-485: Is 20.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (53/sq mi). The mayor of the Atures Municipality is Mireya Labrador, elected on October 31, 2004, with 39% of the vote. She replaced Angel Rodriguez shortly after the elections. The municipality is divided into four parishes ; Fernando Girón Tovar, Luis Alberto Gómez, Parhueña, and Platanillal (previous to December 18, 1997, the Atures Municipality contained only

130-730: The Apure and Meta , 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 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

156-667: The Orinoco oil belt , which may be a source of future oil production. Encompassing the states of Anzoategui - Guarico and Monagas states, the Interior Range forms the northern boundary and the Guayana Shield the southern boundary. 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 sandstones in an overthrusted foreland basin . Since 1973,

182-534: The Parima range , was not explored until 453 years later, in 1951. The source, near the Venezuelan– Brazilian border, at 1,047 metres (3,435 ft) above sea level ( 2°19′05″N 63°21′42″W  /  2.31806°N 63.36167°W  / 2.31806; -63.36167 ), was explored in 1951 by a joint French-Venezuelan expedition. The Orinoco, as well as its tributaries in the eastern llanos such as

208-504: The giant otter inhabit the Orinoco River system. 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 endemic . Among the fish in the river are species found in brackish or salt water in the Orinoco estuary , but also many restricted to fresh water. By far

234-548: The 35% in Colombia . It is the fourth largest river in the world by discharge volume of water. The nevertheless high volume flow (39,000 m /s at delta ) of the Orinoco can be explained by the high precipitation in almost the entire 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

260-670: The Amazon. He reported on the pink river dolphins and later published extensively on the river's flora and fauna. 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 Sierra Parima near the border with Brazil, headed by Venezuelan army officer Frank Risquez Iribarren. The first bridge across

286-544: The Atures Rapids. 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. The Orinoco River deposits also contain extensive tar sands in

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312-550: The Casiquiare includes both blackwater and clear- to whitewater sections, only relatively adaptable species are able to pass through it between the two river systems. 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 , 435 kilometres (270 mi) upstream. River steamers carry cargo as far as Puerto Ayacucho and

338-513: 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

364-688: 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,

390-608: 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

416-749: 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 , 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

442-583: The Orinoco's basin are extremely diverse. The river's name is derived from the Warao term for "a place to paddle", itself derived from the terms güiri (paddle) and noko (place) i.e. a navigable place. 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

468-461: 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 800   kV   TL single span of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) using two towers 110 metres (360 ft) tall. In 1992, an overhead power line crossing for two 400   kV-circuits was completed just west of Morocure (between the cities of Ciudad Bolívar and Ciudad Guayana ), north of

494-581: The confluence of Routes   1 and 19. It had three towers, and the two spans measured 2,161 metres (7,090 ft) and 2,537 metres (8,323 ft), respectively. In 2006, a second bridge, known as the Orinoquia Bridge , was completed near Ciudad Guayana , Venezuela. 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

520-623: The fabled city of El Dorado , the Englishman Sir Walter Raleigh sailed down the river, reaching the savanna country . 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

546-464: The gradient is 0.01% (183 /1,964), which is also the gradient from Ciudad Bolivar to the ocean (54/435). Average, minimum and maximum discharge at Ciudad Bolívar and Ciudad Guayana (Lower Orinoco): Monthly average discharge (m /s) at Ciudad Bolívar (2018 to 2023): Monthly average discharge (m /s) at Ciudad Guayana (1996 to 1998): Average discharge at Ciudad Bolívar (complete time series from 1926 to 2023): The boto and

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572-407: The largest orders are Characiformes and Siluriformes , which together account for more than 80% of the fresh water species. 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 . Because

598-498: 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. The 26th meet was held in 2016. The Irish singer and songwriter Enya wrote and sang

624-433: The longitudinal zonation of a typical large river: At its mouth, the Orinoco River forms a wide delta that branches off into hundreds of rivers and waterways that flow through 41,000 km (16,000 sq mi) of swampy forests. In the rainy season, the Orinoco River can swell to a breadth of 22 kilometres (14 mi) and a depth of 100 metres (330 ft). Most of the important Venezuelan rivers are tributaries of

650-469: The song " Orinoco Flow ", which she released in 1988. Jules Verne's novel Superbe Orénoque has the river as its central theme. Boto Boto is a Portuguese name given to several types of dolphins and river dolphins native to the Amazon and the Orinoco River tributaries. A few botos exist exclusively in fresh water , and these are often considered primitive dolphins. The botos are

676-568: The south. The Amazon river dolphin ( Inia geoffrensis ) thrives in fresh water, is endemic to the Amazon basin, and is placed in the Endangered category of the IUCN. The Araguaian river dolphin ( I. araguaiaensis ) is a newly identified species native to the Araguaia - Tocantins basin of Brazil . The La Plata dolphin ( Pontoporia blainvillei ), another vulnerable Brazilian denizen,

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