Pico Piedras Blancas

Pico Piedras Blancas
Pico Piedras Blancas
	Pico Piedras Blancas (Right) and Pico Mucumamó (left) seen from Alto de Mifafí
Highest point
Elevation	4,737 m (15,541 ft)
Coordinates	8°51′N71°57′W / 8.850°N 71.950°W
Geography
Location	Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela
Parent range	Sierra de la Culata, Andes
Climbing
First ascent	Unknown, however [1]
Easiest route	Walk, easy climb PD

Last updated May 02, 2019

The Pico Piedras Blancas (also known as Misamán), at 4,737 metres (15,541 ft), is the highest mountain of the Sierra de la Culata range in the Mérida State, and the fifth-highest mountain in Venezuela. Its name, meaning "White Stones", is of uncertain origin, since the massif is predominantly grey in color.^[2] Pico Piedras Blancas lacks glaciers; however, seasonal snowfalls may briefly cover its flanks. From its summit and under clear conditions, Lake Maracaibo can be seen. One of the accesses to reach the base of the mountain, is through the Mifafí Condor Reserve, which hosts some specimens of this andean bird.

The Sierra de La Culata is a mountain range in the largest massif in Venezuela, the Cordillera de Mérida, which in turn is part of the northern extent of the Cordillera de los Andes. The Sierra la Culata includes some of the highest peaks in Venezuela, such as Pico Piedras Blancas, Pico Pan de Azúcar, and Collado del Cóndor.

Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and a large number of small islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. The capital and largest urban agglomeration is the city of Caracas. It has a territorial extension of 916,445 km². The continental territory is bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Colombia, Brazil on the south, Trinidad and Tobago to the north-east and on the east by Guyana. With this last country, the Venezuelan government maintains a claim for Guayana Esequiba over an area of 159,542 km². For its maritime areas, it exercises sovereignty over 71,295 km² of territorial waters, 22,224 km² in its contiguous zone, 471,507 km² of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean under the concept of exclusive economic zone, and 99,889 km² of continental shelf. This marine area borders those of 13 states. The country has extremely high biodiversity and is ranked seventh in the world's list of nations with the most number of species. There are habitats ranging from the Andes Mountains in the west to the Amazon basin rain-forest in the south via extensive llanos plains, the Caribbean coast and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.

Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish tidal bay in Venezuela and an "inlet of the Caribbean Sea." It is sometimes considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon. It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait which is 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) wide at the northern end. It is fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. At 13,210 square kilometres (5,100 sq mi) it was once the largest lake in South America; the geological record shows that it was a true lake in the past, and as such is one of the oldest lakes on Earth at 20–36 million years old.

Location

Pico Piedras Blancas is located 35 km (22 mi) to the northeast of Mérida, the state capital. Pico Piedras Blancas is very close to Pico Mucumamó, Pico Los Nevados and Pico El Buitre; all of them surround a high altitude valley in the heart of the Sierra de la Culata at approximately 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) above sea level, known on topographic maps as Hoyo Negro ("Black Hole").

Mérida, officially known as Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes. It was founded in 1558 by Captain Juan Rodríguez Suárez, forming part of Nueva Granada, but later became part of the Captaincy General of Venezuela and played an active role in the War of Independence.

Elevation

A former measure of 4,762 metres, given by Jahn in 1910, was corrected to 4,737 metres in 1951. The latter measure was confirmed by a 2002 GPS survey.

Climbing

Though being the highest mountain of the Sierra de la Culata, it is not as frequently climbed as Pico Pan de Azucar in the same range of La Culata or the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida range.

The Sierra Nevada de Mérida is the highest mountain range in the largest massif in Venezuela, the Cordillera de Mérida, which in turn is part of the northern extent of the Cordillera de los Andes. The Sierra Nevada de Mérida includes the highest peaks in Venezuela, Pico Bolívar, which has an elevation of 4,981 metres (16,342 ft), Pico Humboldt, Pico Bonpland and others.

Piedras Blancas can be best climbed during the dry season, from October to March
The principal accesses are two: through the Mifafí Condor Reserve, near Casa de Gobierno in the Trasandina road, and through the town of La Toma, nearby Mucuchíes, also in the Trasandina road
The normal route is through the eastern side of the massif

The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The tropical rain belt lies in the southern hemisphere roughly from October to March; during that time the northern tropics have a dry season with sparser precipitation, and days are typically sunny throughout. From April to September, the rain belt lies in the northern hemisphere, and the southern tropics have their dry season. Under the Köppen climate classification, for tropical climates, a dry season month is defined as a month when average precipitation is below 60 millimetres (2.4 in).

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The Bolivarian State of Mérida, commonly known simply as Mérida State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Mérida, in the Libertador Municipality.

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References

Silva, Gustavo (2001). "Los Picos más altos del Estado Mérida-Venezuela". Rev. Geog. Venez. 42 (1)^[permanent dead link ]
Pérez, O; Hoyer, M; Hernández, J; Rodrígez, C; Márques, V; Sué, N; Velandia, J; Deiros, D (2005). "Alturas del Pico Bolívar y otras cimas andinas venezolanas a partir de observaciones GPS". Interciencia. 30 (4).
"Determinan la altura exacta del Pico Bolívar" (2003). Instituto Geográfico de Venezuela Simón Bolívar. IGVSB-BG No 14.
Laffaille, Jaime. "Las montañas que lloran".

Notes

↑ It is known that guide Daniel Toro and his father climbed it toward 1964.
↑ Although there is some uncertainty regarding the name of the mountain, there is a local legend about the origin of the mountains and surrounding lagoons at Páramo de Piedras Blancas. It tells about the mourning into which the women of the local indigenous tribes fell after the conquistadors slaughtered their husbands. God, afflicted by "the suffering of His daughters", and wanting to alleviate their great sorrow, turned them into mountains, but still those "mountains" cried, giving origin with their "tears" to the local lagoons. If any tear became entrapped inside any frailejón, or trap of the terrain, it would turn into a "stone as white as milk, of which there are thousands on the summits of the Páramo de Piedras Blancas".

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[1] It is known that guide Daniel Toro and his father climbed it toward 1964.

[2] Although there is some uncertainty regarding the name of the mountain, there is a local legend about the origin of the mountains and surrounding lagoons at Páramo de Piedras Blancas. It tells about the mourning into which the women of the local indigenous tribes fell after the conquistadors slaughtered their husbands. God, afflicted by "the suffering of His daughters", and wanting to alleviate their great sorrow, turned them into mountains, but still those "mountains" cried, giving origin with their "tears" to the local lagoons. If any tear became entrapped inside any frailejón, or trap of the terrain, it would turn into a "stone as white as milk, of which there are thousands on the summits of the Páramo de Piedras Blancas".