Guyana Region

Venezuelan Guyana is a large natural region located south of the Orinoco

River . It is part of the Guiana Massif or Shield , which it shares with Guyana,
Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil and has an area of 458,344 km².

Delimitation
Venezuelan Guiana extends through the states of Bolívar , Amazonas and
part of Delta Amacuro . The Orinoco River entirely surrounds the region in its
northern part and separates it from the Venezuelan Llanos (and also from a
part of the Colombian Llanos), while to the south, it is the watershed
between the Orinoco basin and the Amazon. which constitutes a kind of
natural boundary between the Venezuelan and Brazilian Guianas, with the
notable exception of the Casiquiare basin, which, despite draining towards
the Amazon, is part of the Venezuelan Guiana. Both Venezuelan Guiana
and the other Guyana regions are located in the Intertropical Zone.

General characteristics of the Region:

It is the Region with the largest territorial extension among all the political-
administrative Regions of Venezuela with an area of 458,345 Km2.

It is the Region with the largest extension of jungles and ethnic groups.

It has the most abundant water resources in Venezuela.

It has the largest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls.

The industry in this region is the strongest in the country.

The services are scarce.

Economic activity is concentrated around basic and extraction industries.

Relief
The relief of Guayana is very varied, plains and savannas, with heights
ranging from 100 to 500 m., then La Gran Sabana, which is a plain with an
average of 1,000 m. of altitude and is the home of the tepuis, extraordinary
geological formations, among which Roraima, with its 2,810 m, stands out
for its height. and the Auyantepui, from where the waterfall falls, the highest
in the world, the Angel Falls , with its almost thousand meters of vertical drop
and finally the mountains or mountain ranges that are several and reach
considerable peaks and whose climax is the Marahuaca hill with its 3,840 m.

Economic activity
In the Guayana region, due to its tremendous hydroelectric potential, mineral
wealth: abundance of iron ores and bauxite, one of the main heavy
industries in Latin America has been installed. Indeed, the Siderúrgica del
Orinoco is the main API pipe factory in Latin America and the aluminum
industry and others derived from the production of steel and aluminum must
also be considered. Other important minerals in the region are nickel,
manganese and mercury. There are also significant quantities of precious
metals (gold and platinum) and diamonds. Unfortunately, the abundance of
the latter and gold have brought many adventurers and garimpeiros, who
use unorthodox methods for their extraction, without caring about the
ecological damage they cause to the rivers and environment of Guyana.

Agriculture and livestock, with some exceptions in Upata and Tumeremo,

are mostly not worth mentioning.
The same can be said of the collection of rubber, balatá and sarrapia, once
perhaps the great source of wealth of the region and described by our great
Rómulo Gallegos in his novel Canaima, today, it is not even the shadow of
what it was in the past. past.

Vegetation

Due to its immense extension, the vegetation of the Guayana region, with
the exception of that generated by the eternal snows of the Andes and the
Falcón dunes, is a sample of all the vegetation that covers the Venezuelan
soil; Indeed, throughout its extensive geography there is halophilic
vegetation, which is typical of mangroves; herbaceous vegetation, of the
savannahs; xerophytic, which is that of the thorn or xerophytic forest; the
hygrophilous one of the jungles and the one typical of the cloud forest,
typical of the mountain slopes. The location of these types of vegetation,
within the Guyana territory, will be given in each of the states of the region.

Fauna

The fauna of the region is one of the richest and most varied in the country.
There is an immense range of mammals, from small monkeys to large cats
such as the jaguar, lion and puma. Dantas lapas, chiguires, bears, etc.
Reptiles and amphibians, such as the baba, the Orinoco caiman, turtles,
morrocoyes, anacondas, tragavenados and a great diversity of snakes. Birds
like the beautiful macaw, toucans, parrots, parakeets, curassows, etc. Fish,
from the dreaded kingfish or piranha, to the trembler and edibles such as the
tasty peacock bass, catfish, guabina and others.

Climate
It has a rainy equatorial or intertropical climate , in which there are no true
seasons in terms of precipitation, except for a small area in the northeast of
the region. Temperatures depend considerably on altitude, from the warmest
in the lowlands, with annual averages of 25 to 26 °C (San Carlos de Río
Negro, located less than 2 degrees north latitude and 110 meters above sea
level , for example, has an annual temperature of 26.2 °C) to the cold ones
of the highest plateaus (just over 10 °C in Auyantepuy or Roraima, passing
through the almost spring-like climate of the Gran Sabana, especially in the
areas Above 1200 meters above sea level : Santa Elena de Uairén, at 910
meters above sea level , has an annual average of 21.8 °C. Precipitation is
very high, especially in the state of Amazonas and the southwest of the state
of Bolívar: 3,521 mm annually in San Carlos de Río Negro. Santa Elena de
Uairén, which is somewhat partially leeward from the winds, reaches 1,739
mm annually, although with the particularity that no month could be
considered dry, if we take into account the Gaussen xerothermal index .

Hydrography
Very large rivers with quite steep slopes, almost all of them tributaries of the
Orinoco, constitute the distinctive note of the hydrography of Venezuelan
Guyana. All the tributaries of the Orinoco on its right bank, from its source to
the delta , are Guayanese rivers, among which we can mention: the Ventuari
, the Cuchivero, the Caura , the Aro and the Caroní .
Among the rivers of Venezuelan Guayana that are not part of the Orinoco
Basin we must mention the Casiquiare arm and the Cuyuní river. The
Casiquiare is not a tributary but an effluent of the Orinoco, and in turn,
receives the Siapa on its left bank. The Casiquiare represents a unique case
in the world, since, being a natural emissary of the Orinoco, it puts the two
basins of the Orinoco and the Amazon in communication, through the Negro
River . The Cuyuní, for its part, with its tributary the Venamo, heads towards
the Essequibo .

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS

Crafts: It covers a very wide variety that ranges from popular art, the
production of fabrics and ceramics, to musical instruments, stone and
leather work. Hats, baskets and chinchorros are made with the fiber of the
moriche palm. Pots, pimpinas, piggy banks, budares and pots are made with
the clay. In the area of El Callao, mica and Quartz were worked. Jewelry,
snake, alligator and cattle leather are also worked. The Warao make
chinchorros, espadrilles and the square sails they use in the curiaras. They
also weave wonderful baskets and moriche maps, some of which have
designs made with dyes extracted from the moriche. They make miniature
copies of their own temiche houses, including the gadgets they use for
cooking, sleeping, hunting and fishing.

Folklore: This state is characterized by numerous folkloric traditions, but the

most relevant or practiced is Calypso. Calypso, which is performed in all the
Antillean islands, acquired certain peculiarities in Venezuela (El Callao),
choruses sung in Patúas or Creole, two Antillean dialects, strong and
picaresque lyrics and narration of local events.

The numerous and varied indigenous dances should also be highlighted,

which take place in an environment where the aborigines dance and drink
corn chicha. Among them we can highlight: The Dance of the Moon, The
Dances of the Pemones, The Dance of the Serpent, etc.

There are numerous manifestations that make up the folklore of the state.
• The Burning of Judas: As part of the Holy Week festivities, on Easter
Sunday a rag doll the size of a man is cremated, symbolizing the traitor
Judas Iscariot.

Cultural Resources: The Bolívar state has valuable museums such as: The
Ciudad Bolívar Museum (Where Ciudad Bolívar is represented in ancient
times), Geological and Mining Museum of Guayana (Where a wide variety of
geological pieces from the world and of Venezuela), Jesús Soto Art Museum
(In homage to this great exponent of world modern art) and the Talavera
Museum, among others.

GASTRONOMY: Predominance of sea and river fish, shellfish and lobsters,

tubers such as yams, potatoes and Chinese ocumo, corn and beef in the
southern plains area where there is also production of soft fresh cheeses
(guayanés, de mano, clineja , Creole mozzarella, etc.), everyday meals of
fried or stewed fish accompanied with arepas, rice, salad and slices. Trend
of European maritime foods (such as clams with white wine, paella, etc.).