The Geography of Guyana comprises the physical characteristics of the country in Northern South America and part of Caribbean South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela, with a land area of approximately 214,969 square km. The country is situated between 1 and 9 north latitude and between 56 and 62 west longitude. With a 459 km (285 mi)-long Atlantic coastline on the northeast, Guyana is bounded by Venezuela on the west, Brazil on the west and south, and Suriname on the east.
The Guiana Shield is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on the shield are called the Guiana Highlands, which is where the table-like mountains called tepuis are found. The Guiana Highlands are also the source of some of the world's most well-known waterfalls such as Angel Falls, Kaieteur Falls and Cuquenan Falls.
Tugela Falls is a complex of seasonal waterfalls located in the Drakensberg of Royal Natal National Park in KwaZulu-Natal Province, Republic of South Africa. According to some measurements, it is the world's tallest waterfall. A revisited validation of waterfall measurements is not available, and there's still uncertainty whether Tugela or Venezuela's Angel Falls is the tallest.
Angel Falls is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 metres (3,212 ft), and a plunge of 807 m (2,648 ft). The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyán-tepui mountain in the Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State. The height figure, 979 m (3,212 ft), mostly consists of the main plunge but also includes about 400 metres (1,300 ft) of sloped cascade and rapids below the drop and a 30-metre-high (100 ft) plunge downstream of the talus rapids.
A tepui, or tepuy, is a table-top mountain or mesa found in South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana.
Auyán-tepui, also spelt Ayan, is a tepui in Bolívar state, Venezuela. It is the most visited and one of the largest tepuis in the Guiana Highlands, with a summit area of 666.9 km2 (257.5 sq mi) and an estimated slope area of 715 km2 (276 sq mi).
Mount Roraima is the highest of the Pacaraima chain of tepuis or plateaux in South America. It is located at the junction of Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela. A characteristic large flat-topped mountain surrounded by cliffs 400–1,000 m (1,300–3,300 ft) high. The highest point of Mount Roraima is located on the southern edge of the cliff at an altitude of 2,810 m (9,220 ft) in Venezuela, and another protrusion at an altitude of 2,772 m (9,094 ft) at the junction of the three countries in the north of the plateau is the highest point in Guyana. The name Mount Roraima came from the native Pemon people. Roroi in the Pemon language means "blue-green", and ma means "great".
The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, also known as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the Tsangpo Canyon, the Brahmaputra Canyon or the Tsangpo Gorge, is a canyon along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the deepest canyon in the world, and at 504.6 kilometres (313.5 mi) is slightly longer than the Grand Canyon in the United States, making it one of the world's largest. The Yarlung Tsangpo originates near Mount Kailash and runs east for about 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi), draining a northern section of the Himalayas before it enters the gorge just downstream of Pei, Tibet, near the settlement of Zhibe. The canyon has a length of about 240 kilometres (150 mi) as the gorge bends around Mount Namcha Barwa and cuts its way through the eastern Himalayas. Its waters drop from about 2,900 metres (9,500 ft) near Pei to about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) at the end of the Upper Gorge where the Po Tsangpo River enters. The river continues through the Lower Gorge to the Indian border at an elevation of 660 metres (2,170 ft). The river then enters Arunachal Pradesh and eventually becomes the Brahmaputra.
Canaima National Park is a 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) park in south-eastern Venezuela that roughly occupies the same area as the Gran Sabana region. It is located in Bolívar State, reaching the borders with Brazil and Guyana. The park was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Caroní River is the second most important river of Venezuela, the second in flow, and one of the longest, 952 kilometres (592 mi) from the Kukenan tepui through to its confluence with the Orinoco River. The name "Caroní" is applied starting from the confluence of the Kukenan with the Yuruaní River at 182 kilometres (113 mi) from the source of the Kukenan and 770 kilometres (480 mi) from its discharge in the Orinoco. The confluence takes place in Bolivar State.
La Gran Sabana is a region in southeastern Venezuela, part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion.
The Pacaraima or Pakaraima Mountains are a mountain range primarily in southwestern Guyana, and into northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela.
The Guayana Region is an administrative region of eastern Venezuela.
Heliamphora nutans is a species of marsh pitcher plant native to the border area between Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana, where it grows on several tepuis, including Roraima, Kukenán, Yuruaní, Maringma, and Wei Assipu. Heliamphora nutans was the first Heliamphora to be described and is the best known species.
Cerro Sarisariñama is a tepui, a flat-topped mountain in Jaua-Sarisariñama National Park at the far south-west of Bolívar State, Venezuela, near the border with Brazil. Its altitude range is between 300 m (980 ft) and 2,350 m (7,710 ft). The name of the mountain originates from the tale of local Ye'kuana Indians about an evil spirit living in caves up in the mountain and devouring human flesh with a sound "Sari... sari...".
The Roraiman barbtail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
Kukenán, also known as Matawi or Cuquenán, is a tepui in Bolívar State, Guayana Region, Venezuela. It has an estimated surface area of 2185 hectares. It is 2,680 metres (8,790 ft) high and about 3 km (1.9 mi) long. Kukenan Falls, which is 674 m (2,211 ft) high, is located at the south end of the tepui.
The natural range of the carnivorous plant genus Heliamphora is restricted to the southern Venezuelan states of Amazonas and Bolívar, and to adjacent portions of northern Brazil and western Guyana, an area corresponding to the western part of the Guayana Shield. These plants are largely confined to the summits and foothills of the sandstone table-top mountains of the region, known as tepuis.
Wei-Assipu-tepui, also known as Little Roraima or Roraimita, is a minor tepui of the Eastern Tepuis chain. It lies just off the northeastern flank of Roraima-tepui in the country of Brazil, directly on the border with neighboring Guyana in the disputed Guayana Esequiba territory, and very close to the tripoint of all three countries. The mountain is known for its extensive cave systems, with one extending for over a kilometre.
Maverick Rock or Maverick Stone is a natural rock formation in Venezuela, on top of Mount Roraima. It is the highest point of that tabletop mountain, at 2,810 metres (9,220 ft) a.m.s.l. The rock stands near the southwestern edge of the mountain plateau. Although Mount Roraima is shared with Guyana and Brazil, Maverick Rock is entirely within internationally recognized Venezuelan territory, in the state of Bolívar, of which it is the highest point.
