Kukenan tepui.

A Tepui (or Tepuy) is a table-top mountain (mesa) found only in the Guayana highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana. Tepuis tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal species. Some of the most outstanding tepuis are Autana, Auyantepui and Mount Roraima (the highest and most famous one, on the border tripoint of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana). They are typically composed of sheer blocks of Precambrian sandstone or quartzite rocks rising abruptly from the jungle, giving rise to spectacular natural scenery. Auyantepui is the source of Angel Falls, the world's tallest waterfall. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Mathematics Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) is a current program that is building in schools around the United States. ... Mt Roraima in Venezuela Map showing extent of Precambrian rocks in Guyana Shield The Guiana[1] Shield (Spanish: Guayana) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Pemon or Pemong (in Spanish: Pemón) is a Carib language spoken mainly in Venezuela, specifically in the regions Bolivar State, Gran Sabana, an estimated 4,800 people in Venezuela speak Pemon. ... Native Americans redirects here. ... La Gran Sabana (English: The Great Savannah) is one of the major attractions in Venezuela and is located in the south of Bolívar State on the Venezuelan-Brazilian border, approximately 1,400 km from Caracas. ... In biology and ecology endemic means exclusively native to a place or biota, in contrast to cosmopolitan or introduced. ... Autana, the tree of life, is a spectacular tepui located in the Amazonas state in Venezuela. ... Auyantepui (or Auyan Tepui), Devils Mountain, is the most visited and famous tepui in Venezuela. ... Monte Roraima (Also: Mount Roraima, Cerro Roraima, Pico do Roraima, Roroima) is the highest of the table-top tabletop mountains (or tepuis) shared between Venezuela, Guyana (disputed by Venezuela) and the Roraima state of Brazil. ... The Precambrian (Pre-Cambrian) is an informal name for the supereon comprising the eons of the geologic timescale that came before the current Phanerozoic eon. ... Red sandstone interior of Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona, worn smooth due to erosion by flash flooding over millions of years Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... Quartzite Quartzite (from German Quarzit[1]) is a hard, metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. ... Auyantepui (or Auyan Tepui), Devils Mountain, is the most visited and famous tepui in Venezuela. ... Angel Falls (indigenous name: Parekupa-meru) is the worlds highest free-falling, freshwater waterfall at 979 m (3,212 ft), with an uninterrupted drop of 807 m (2,648 ft). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Morphology

The plateau of Mount Roraima. The peculiar rock formation is caused by erosion.

These table-top mountains are the oldest exposed rock formations on the planet, the remains of a large, sandstone plateau that once covered the granite basement complex between the north border of the Amazon Basin and the Orinoco, between the Atlantic coast and the Rio Negro. Throughout the course of the history of Earth, the plateau was eroded, and the tepuis were formed from the remaining monadnocks. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (584x880, 65 KB) Summary Photograph by Jeff Johnson. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (584x880, 65 KB) Summary Photograph by Jeff Johnson. ... Amazon River basin The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. ... For other uses, see Orinoco (disambiguation). ... The Negro (Spanish: black) River, the great northern tributary of the Amazon River and the largest blackwater river in the world, has its sources along the watershed between the Orinoco and the Amazon basins, and also connects with the Orinoco by way of the Casiquiare canal. ... Geological time put in a diagram called a geological clock, showing the relative lengths of the eons of the Earths history. ... A monadnock or inselberg is an isolated hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. ...

Sinkhole

There are 115 such mesas in the Gran Sabana in the south-east of Venezuela on the border with Guyana and Brazil, where the highest concentration of tepuis is found. The precipitous mountains tower over the surrounding area by up to 1,000 meters. On the top of the mountains grow various types of forests with a wide variety of orchids and Bromeliads species. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... La Gran Sabana (English: The Great Savannah) is one of the major attractions in Venezuela and is located in the south of Bolívar State on the Venezuelan-Brazilian border, approximately 1,400 km from Caracas. ... For other uses, see Mountain (disambiguation). ... Orchid re-directs here; for alternate uses see Orchid (disambiguation) Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ... Genera See text Bromeliads include epiphytes, such as Spanish moss, and ground plants, such as the Pineapple. ...

Because of their great age, some tepuis exhibit surface features and subsurface caves that are typical of more water-soluble rock such as limestone. Caves here include the 671m deep Abismo Guy Collet, the deepest quartzite cave in the world. Some of the mesas are pocked with giant sinkholes up to 300 metres in diameter and with sheer walls up to 300 metres deep. These sinkholes are formed when the roofs of tunnels carved by underground rivers collapse. Alternate meanings: Cave (disambiguation) The outside world viewed from a cave A cave is a natural underground void. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ... The Abismo Guy Collet is the deepest cave in the world that is formed in quartzite. ... Devils Hole near Hawthorne, Florida, USA. A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water. ...

Flora and Fauna

Mount Roraima.

The plateau of the mesas is completely isolated from the ground forest. The altitude causes them to have a different climate from the ground forest, and the cliffs are difficult to climb. This isolation has over millennia led to the presence of endemic flora and fauna. The top presents cool temperatures with frequent rainfall, while the bases of the mountains have a tropical, warm and humid climate. The isolation has led to the evolution of a different world of animal and plants, cut off from the rest of the world by the imposing rock walls. Some tepui sinkholes contain species that have evolved in these "islands within islands" that are unique to that sinkhole. The tepuis are often referred to as the Galápagos Islands of the mainland, having a large number of unique plants and animals not found anywhere else in the world. The floors of the mesas are poor in nutrients, which has led to a rich variety of carnivorous plants. The weathered, craggy nature of the rocky ground means no layers of humus are formed. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Monte Roraima (Also: Mount Roraima, Cerro Roraima, Pico do Roraima, Roroima) is the highest of the table-top tabletop mountains (or tepuis) shared between Venezuela, Guyana (disputed by Venezuela) and the Roraima state of Brazil. ... Mathematics Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) is a current program that is building in schools around the United States. ... In biology and ecology endemic means exclusively native to a place or biota, in contrast to cosmopolitan or introduced. ... For the nature documentary series, see Galápagos (TV series). ... A pitcher plant in flower, growing on a road cut in Palau A carnivorous plant is a plant that derives some or most of its nutrients (but not energy) by trapping and consuming animals, especially insects. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The tepuis, also known as 'islands above the rainforest', are a challenge for researchers, as they are home to a high number of new species which have yet to be described.^{[citation needed]} A few of these mountains are cloaked by thick clouds almost the whole year round. Their surfaces could previously only be photographed by helicopter radar equipment. Humans have still yet to set foot on many of the tepuis.^{[citation needed]}

Most tepuis are in the Canaima National Park in Venezuela, which has been classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima) is a 30,000 km² park in south-eastern Venezuela that borders Brazil and Guyana. ... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ...

Selected Tepuis

View of Kukenan tepui.

The steep rock wall of Mount Roraima.

A few of the most notable of the 115 Tepuis are: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (880x584, 42 KB) Summary Photograph by Jeff Johnson. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (880x584, 42 KB) Summary Photograph by Jeff Johnson. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (880x584, 77 KB) Summary Photographed by Jeff Johnson. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (880x584, 77 KB) Summary Photographed by Jeff Johnson. ...

• Auyantepui is the largest of the tepuis with a surface area of 700 km². Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, drops from a cleft in the summit.
• Mount Roraima, also known as Roraima Tepui. A report by the noted South American researcher Robert Schomburgk inspired the Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle to write his novel The Lost World about the discovery of a living prehistoric world full of dinosaurs and primeval plants.
• Matawi Tepui, also known as Kukenan, because it is the source of the Kukenan River, is considered the "place of the dead" by the local Pemon Indians.
• Autana Tepui. Autana stands 1,300 m above the forest floor. A unique cave runs from one side of the mountain through the other.
• Ptaritepui's sheer rock walls are so isolated, it is believed a high number of endemic plant and animal species could be found there.
• Sarisariñama Tepui.

Auyantepui (or Auyan Tepui), Devils Mountain, is the most visited and famous tepui in Venezuela. ... Angel Falls (indigenous name: Parekupa-meru) is the worlds highest free-falling, freshwater waterfall at 979 m (3,212 ft), with an uninterrupted drop of 807 m (2,648 ft). ... Monte Roraima (Also: Mount Roraima, Cerro Roraima, Pico do Roraima, Roroima) is the highest of the table-top tabletop mountains (or tepuis) shared between Venezuela, Guyana (disputed by Venezuela) and the Roraima state of Brazil. ... Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk (June 5, 1804 - March 11, 1865), British traveller, was born at Freiburg, Prussian Saxony, the son of a Protestant minister. ... Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859–7 July 1930) was a British author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger. ... The Lost World is a 1912 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle concerning an expedition to a plateau (native name is Tepuyes) in South America (Venezuela) where prehistoric animals (dinosaurs and other extinct creatures) still survive. ... Pemon or Pemong (in Spanish: Pemón) is a Carib language spoken mainly in Venezuela, specifically in the regions Bolivar State, Gran Sabana, an estimated 4,800 people in Venezuela speak Pemon. ... Autana, the tree of life, is a spectacular tepui located in the Amazonas state in Venezuela. ... For other uses, see Cave (disambiguation). ... The Sarisariñama tepui is a mountain in the Jaua-Sarisariñama National Park at the far south-west of Bolívar State, Venezuela, near the border with Brazil. ...

See also

• Canaima National Park
• Geography of South America

Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima) is a 30,000 km² park in south-eastern Venezuela that borders Brazil and Guyana. ... Map of South America. ...

References

• Much of the text of this article comes from the corresponding German-language Wikipedia article, retrieved on 16 February 2006, which uses the following sources:
  • Uwe George: Inseln in der Zeit. GEO - Gruner + Jahr AG & Co., Hamburg, ISBN 3-570-06212-0.
  • Roland Stuckardt: Sitze der Götter. terra - Heft 3/2004, Tecklenborg Verlag, Steinfurt.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Guiana Highlands

• http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0169_full.html
• The Making of the Tepuis Film : "The Living Edens : The Lost World"
• Mongabay.com -- pictures from Tepuis in Venezuela.
• Pemon Myths and Legends about the Tepuis