Angel Falls, Canaima National Park

Description

Canaima National Park is located in the south-east of Venezuela in Bolívar State close to the borders with Brazil and Guyana. The park protects the north-western section of the Guayana Shield, an ancient geological formation shared with Brazil, the Guianas and Colombia. The park was established in 1962 with an area of 10,000km², but its size was increased to 30,000km² in 1975 in order to safeguard the watershed functions of its river basins. At that time it became the world's largest national park, its area being equivalent to that of Belgium in Europe, or larger than the State of Maryland.

In recognition of its extraordinary scenery and geological and biological values, the park was conceded World Heritage Status in 1994, forming one of a select list of 126 natural and natural-cultural World Heritage Sites worldwide. Canaima actually fulfilled all four of UNESCO's criteria for qualification as a World Heritage property. Ironically, the name of the park, which derives from the novel "Canaima" by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos, means "spirit of evil" in the language of the Pemón, local inhabitants of the park.

By its very size and because of its spectacular scenery and vast natural resources, Canaima National Park is truly one of the world's greatest natural wonders. It is crossed by huge rapids as well as slow, majestic rivers, which flow in marked contrast to thick jungle of this paradise, reflecting the variety of green hues as they blend with the water. In the plains, the rivers weave across the open grasslands, interrupting their course at any of the many indescribable waterfalls that are a common feature of Guayana.
The rolling scenery meets the legendary "tepuys" (table-top mountains), transporting the spectator back over thousands of years and showing the Earth's physiochronology as if in an open book. Exuberant wildlife and flowers join in a polychromatic concert of living beings, with intense colour and light in harmonious natural surroundings. This daily spectacle includes jungles, forest, grasslands, mountains, strong winds and torrential rains, which give way to wide, blue skies.

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Submitted by: Ilmar Saar

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This page was last updated on:
18 Sep 2006 11:22AM

You are write, El Salto Angel, is one of the most beautiful places in the world. But, Venezuela is in South America, not in Central America. Could you correct this error? thank you!