Orinduik Falls | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Location | Brazil-Guyana |
Coordinates | 4°43′34″N60°02′15″W / 4.72611°N 60.03750°W |
The Orinduik Falls lie on the Ireng River, a highland river that thunders over steps and terraces of red jasper on the border of Guyana and Brazil before merging with the Takutu River and into Brazil to join the Amazon River.
The falls are situated amid the rolling, grass-covered hills of the Pakaraima Mountains. Orinduik Falls is a wide, multi-tiered series of cascades making it an ideal waterfall for swimming. Waterfall is approximately 25 m tall and more than 150 m wide. [1]
There are other waterfalls on Ireng River, including the approximately 100 m tall Kurutuik Falls located more than 40 km to the north, but due to hard accessibility these falls are rarely visited. [2]
The area is inhabited by Macushi and Patamona people, and there are a few villages in the vicinity of the falls. [3]
Orin is a type of aquatic plant found in this river, which is harvested, dried and chewed like tobacco by the Amerindians of the region, whereas duik means falls (both words in Patamona language). [4] [5]
Orinduik Falls is one of the main tourist attractions in Guyana. [6] The falls lie at the edge of the Pakaraima Mountains. There are frequent flights from Ogle Airport and Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Georgetown and most tours are combined with Kaieteur Falls. The Ministry of Tourism facilitates an annual safari through Region 8 and 9 with the falls as a major point of interest. [7] [8]
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 Essequibo River is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,014 km (630 mi) through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean. It has a total drainage basin of 156,828 km2 (60,552 sq mi) and an average discharge of 5,650 m3/s (200,000 cu ft/s).
Trans Guyana Airways Limited is a Guyanese airline which commenced operations in 1956 in Georgetown, Guyana, with a single float airplane. Since then, the company has expanded their fleet to provide domestic and regional transportation, and to Guyana's remote areas.
Kaieteur Falls is one of the most powerful single-drop waterfalls in the world. It is located on the Potaro River in Kaieteur National Park, central Essequibo Territory, Guyana. It is 226 metres (741 ft) high when measured from its plunge over a sandstone and conglomerate cliff to the first break. It then flows over a series of steep cascades that, when included in the measurements, bring the total height to 251 metres (822 ft). While many falls have greater height or greater flow, few have the combination of height and water volume, and Kaieteur is among the most powerful waterfalls in the world with an average flow rate of 663 cubic metres per second. Kaieteur Falls is about four and a half times the height of Niagara Falls, on the border between Canada and the United States, and about twice the height of Victoria Falls, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa.
The Acarai Mountains is a mountain range in the southern part of the Tigri Area on the border with Brazil. The Tigri area is a disputed territory of Guyana and Suriname. The Acarai Mountains are a wet, forested highland region of low mountains and is one of four mountain ranges in Guyana, the others being the Imataka, Kanuku and Pakaraima mountains. The headwaters of the Essequibo River, the longest river in Guyana, and the Courantyne River, have their sources in this range. The actual source of the Essequibo was discovered in 2013 by a Guyanese-German team. The mountain range was first mentioned in 1821 by A.H. Brué as Sierra do Acaray.
The Mazaruni River is a tributary of the Essequibo River in northern Guyana. Its source is in the remote western forests of the Pakaraima Mountains and its confluence with the Cuyuni River is near Bartica. As it descends from the Guiana Highlands the river runs south-east, past Issano, then northward to Bartica. The river is a source of alluvial gold.
The Pacaraima or Pakaraima Mountains are a mountain range primarily in southwestern Guyana, and into northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela.
Potaro-Siparuni is a region of Guyana. It borders the region of Cuyuni-Mazaruni to the north, the regions of Upper Demerara-Berbice and East Berbice-Corentyne to the east, the region of Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo to the south and Brazil to the west.
Kaieteur National Park is a national park located in the Potaro-Siparuni Region of Guyana, roughly 633 km south of Georgetown, the nation's capital, closer to the border with Brazil than to the Caribbean coast. It is widely considered the country's only national park, as the capital's National Park is a not a true wilderness reserve. Kaieteur is part of the Guianan moist forests ecoregion. The main tourist attraction in the park is Kaieteur Falls, considered the largest single-drop waterfall anywhere on earth, by volume of water. Orinduik Falls is another water-feature in the park, a series of smaller, cascading waterfalls. There is a popular swimming hole located at Orinduik.
The Potaro River is a river in Guyana that runs from Mount Ayanganna area of the Pakaraima Mountains for approximately 255 km (158 mi) before flowing into the Essequibo River, Guyana's largest river. The renowned Kaieteur Falls is on the Potaro.
The Ireng River forms part of Guyana's western border with Brazil. It flows through the valleys of the Pakaraima Mountains for most of its length. It is the only major river in Guyana which flows from North to South, up to its confluence into the Takutu River. It is one of the northernmost tributaries of the Amazon River system.
The Patamona are an Amerindian people native to the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana and northern Brazil. They speak a Cariban language, Kapóng, and have often been referred to interchangeably as Akawaio or Ingariko. Patamona are considered a sub-group of Kapon people.
Bonfim is a municipality located in the mideast of the state of Roraima in Brazil. Its population is 12,557 and its area is 8,095 km2. The city lies opposite the Takutu River from Lethem, Guyana. The Takutu River Bridge links Bonfim and Roraima with the town of Lethem and the Atlantic port of Georgetown, Guyana.
The Kassikaityu River is a tributary of the Essequibo River of Guyana.
Charles Barrington Brown was a Canadian geologist and explorer. On April 24, 1870, he was one of two English-based geologists appointed government surveyors to the colony of British Guiana. That same year, he was the first Westerner to see Kaieteur Falls. The other surveyor was James Sawkins.
Fairview (Kurupukari) is an indigenous settlement on the Essequibo River, in the Upper Demerara-Berbice region of Guyana. It is the entry point to the Iwokrama Forest. Former president David A. Granger once referred to Iwokrama as the "green heart of Guyana."
Monte Roraima National Park is a national park in the state of Roraima, northern Brazil.
Tourism in Guyana is a fledgling industry compared to other countries in the Caribbean. Tourism is mainly focused on ecotourism, and accommodations for business travelers. Guyana is home to Kaieteur Falls, Mount Roraima, and St. George's Cathedral.
Isseneru is an Amerindian settlement in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region of Guyana, approximately 15–20 miles west of Kurupung.
Karasabai is an indigenous village of Macushi Amerindians in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. It is located in the South Pakaraima Mountains, and near the Ireng River which flows south to the Amazon River.
4°43′34″N60°02′15″W / 4.72611°N 60.03750°W