The 5 Most Important Rivers of the Orinoquía Region

The rivers of the Orinoquía region in Colombia they are tributaries of the Orinoco River and are the Meta, Guaviare, Casanare and Arauca. The Orinoco is the main river in South America and flows in a giant arc for about 1,700 miles (2,740 km) from its source in the Guyana Highlands to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean..

The term Orinoquía refers to the great hydrographic basin of the Orinoco River, which includes all its tributaries.

Brief description of some rivers in the Orinoquía region

Many of the great rivers of the Orinoquía region are navigable. Some cross the plains, transporting sediment from the flat, sandy plains to the Orinoco delta in Venezuela..

The Ariari and Guaviare rivers divide eastern Colombia into the llanos subregion in the north and the jungle subregion in the south.

In the llanos region, the Guaviare and rivers to the north drain northeast to the Orinoco basin. For their part, the rivers south of the Guaviare flow to the southeast in the Amazon basin.

Some rivers in the Orinoquía region are briefly described below..

Orinoco

It is one of the giant river systems in the world with a basin that covers an area of ​​950,000 km².

During most of its course it flows through Venezuela, except for a section that forms part of the border between Venezuela and Colombia..

In terms of flow, it ranks third in the world, and seventh in terms of drainage areas.

Goal

This river in the Orinoquía region is born on the crest of the mountain in front of Santa Fé de Bogotá.

When it passes through the province of Juan de los Llanos and the department of Casanare, it receives many other large rivers, and flows into the Orinoco.

Thus, the Meta receives the Pachaquiaro, the Upia, the Cravo and the Pauto, in Juan de los Llanos, and the Ariporo, the Chire and the Casanare, in the department of Casanare.

Guaviare

Another of the great rivers of the Orinoquía region is the Guaviare. This is a large river that rises from the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes and empties into the Orinoco River near San Fernando de Atabapo, in Venezuela..

In total, it is 1,497 kilometers (930 miles) long, of which 630 km (391 miles) are navigable..

Casanare

This river rises from the south of the Sierra Nevada de Chita and is navigable from the port of San Salvador, 300 km from the Meta River.

Of all the tributaries of the Meta, it is the largest, longest, and most navigable.

Arauca

For its part, the Arauca rises in the mountains of Santa Fé, a short distance south of the sources of the Apure River (Venezuela).

It communicates with it near the Orinoco by several arms before flowing into that river. In this way, it forms some large and fertile islands.

References

1. Dier, A. (2017). Moon Colombia. Berkeley: Avalon.
2. Orinoco River. (2017, September 11). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved on October 23, 2017, from britannica.com.
3. Hudson, R. A. (2010). Colombia: A Country Study. Washington: Government Printing Office.
4. Boraas, T. (2002). Colombia. Mankato: Capstone Press.
5. Bras, Rafael L. I and Rodríguez-Iturbe, I. (1985). Random Functions and Hydrology. New York: Dover Publications.
6. Kline, H. F. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Colombia. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
7. Walker, A. (1822). Colombia. London: Baldwin, Cradcok, and Joy.