Let's Travel Down the Orinoco River Quiz

Answer: Venezuela and Colombia

The Orinoco River is one of the top ten longest rivers in South America and the fourth largest in the world when measuring discharge of water flow. It is 1,330 miles long and forms a large arc across the two countries of Venezuela and Colombia. Most of the river, over three-fourths, and its tributaries are found within Venezuela where it serves as a major transportation hub and natural iron source.

The river itself is divided geographically into the Upper, Middle, and Lower stretches.

Answer: Parima Mountains

The Parima Mountains, called Sierra Parima in Spanish, form a range about 200 miles long near the border of Brazil and Venezuela. They go up to 5,000 feet above sea level and their western slopes feed the Orinoco while their eastern slopes eventually lead into the Amazon River.

The springs that bubble up and form the Orinoco are found at the southern end of the range near Mount Delgado Chalbaud. They are approximately 3,000 feet above sea level. The mountainous area is fairly uninhabited except for the villages of the local Yanomami tribes who have outlasted conquistadors, gold rushes, and threat of encroaching civilization.

Answer: A separation of a river into separate streams

The Casiquiare is peculiar to the Orinoco River. It is a natural canal that branches off of the Orinoco and flows to the Rio Negro which in turns flows into the Amazon. Over the centuries, the lower elevation of the lands near the Amazon helped separate the water into a perfect canal as some of the Orinoco waters flowed over the lower land. Species of fish tend to either stay in the acidic waters of the Negro or the neutral waters of the Orinoco.

However, humans have used this natural 'cut-through' since it was discovered in the 1600s by slave traders.

The Casiquiare runs southwest just 9 miles from Esmeralda and flows for about 200 miles.

Answer: Granite

The Orinoco has been joined up with other mountains streams and by the time it reaches the Middle Orinoco section it is a large volume of water being rushed over and around huge granite boulders in the area. This series of rapids ranges for miles and ends with the Atures Rapids which marks the beginning of the Lower Orinoco.

These rapids have created small settlements over time where people got aid in transporting goods around the dangerous rocks and rapids. In the late 2000s, an archaeological study around the Atures Rapids found beads, fragments of fabric, and rock art on the granite facings.

This helped prove the theory of pre-colonial people having lived in the area.

Answer: Orinoco crocodile

The Orinoco crocodile can grow up to 17 feet long and weigh over 800 pounds. It is light tan with scattered dark spots and has a long snout. When the Orinoco River gets low during the dry season, the crocodile goes into burrows along the riverbanks. They are at the top of the food chain for the area and eat fish, birds, and mammals. Even though they can live up to 70 years, they are highly endangered animals because of the small population and threats to their environment.

They have also been heavily hunted for their skin over the years. Venezuela has several programs aimed at preserving the habitat and lives of this unique fresh water animal.

Answer: Tropical with wet and dry seasons

The llano is a region of Venezuela that is low lying and combines multiple habitats into a form of an ecoregion. There are grasslands that flood during the rainy season, foothills that form up toward the mountains, and dryer grassy plains. The llano, with its ability to absorb excess water, helps keep the Orinoco and its tributaries from flooding.

The climate is tropical and the Orinoco only has two seasons: summer and winter. Winter is considered the rainy season and spans from April to October and the remaining months are the dry months, or summer.

The average 78 degree Fahrenheit temperature fluctuates from day to night but remains pretty consistent on a monthly basis.

Answer: Angel Falls

Angel Falls is located in Canaima National Park and falls an astounding 3,212 feet down into Devil's Canyon. This makes it the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall. The falls were ignored by local tribes as they feared evil spirits abounded there so it was not until the mid-1930s that the site was discovered by a pilot doing a routine flight over the area. Since that time, visitors have been amazed at the area and it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. From camps near the base, it still takes about five hours to canoe to a lagoon, hike through the jungle growth, and settle around the pools at the bottom of the falls.

Answer: Delta

The delta has two major waterways within it: the Manamo in the north part of the huge area and the Rio Grande in the east. These are connected via a gigantic array of smaller canals and channels. Giant mangrove swamps abound throughout the region. Piranha swim through the waters alongside pink dolphins and giant otters.

When the rainy season starts in April, mosquito swarms fill the air and fly near toucans and hummingbirds. Every year, the Orinoco adds another 100 million cubic meters of sediment and sand to this vast delta and helps form fertile soil.

Answer: Thatch roofed huts on stilts

There are about 20,000 Warao living in the Orinoco Delta region. They build their wall-less huts upland to avoid floods and put them on stilts so they stay above the water. The spend most of their time on canoes or boats on the water so the homes are very simple and usually only contain a few hammocks and a cooking area. Hundreds of years ago, the Warao tribes learned to grow a few crops but they have always counted on the water to provide their food in the way of fish, crabs, insects, and plants.

The ancestors of today's people probably didn't know that it was their very huts over the canals that inspired European explorers to name the area Venezuela or "Little Venice".

Answer: Atlantic Ocean

The Orinoco River, which means "a place to paddle", measures 1,330 miles and descends almost 3,500 feet on its trip to meet the Atlantic Ocean from the mountains where it starts. More than 1/3 of the river is navigable and ocean ships can even go 270 miles upstream from the Atlantic. Tourists enjoy cruises that start at the shores of the Atlantic then switch to wetland trips where salt and fresh water animals mix.

The Orinoco and its path from fresh springs to mighty ocean passes through people, animals, and plants that define life in South America.