| Canaima National Park | |
|---|---|
 Wadakapiapué-tepui andYuruaní-tepui in Canaima National Park | |
.svg)  Location of Angel Falls in the Canaima National Park | |
| Location | Bolívar State,Venezuela |
| Coordinates | 6°10′N62°30′W / 6.167°N 62.500°W /6.167; -62.500 |
| Area | 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) |
| Established | June 12, 1962 (1962-06-12) |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, viii, ix, x |
| Designated | 1994(18thsession) |
| Reference no. | 701 |
| Region | Latin America and the Caribbean |
Canaima National Park (Spanish:Parque Nacional Canaima) is a 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) park in south-easternVenezuela that roughly occupies the same area as theGran Sabana region. It is located inBolívar State, reaching the borders withBrazil andGuyana. The park was named aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO.
Canaima National Park was established on 12 June 1962.As early as 1990, the countries that participate in the Amazonian Cooperation Treaty had recommended expanding the Canaima National Park southward to connect it withMonte Roraima National Park in Brazil, with coordinated management of tourism, research and conservation.[1]
In 1994, the Canaima National Park was named aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO. TheInternational Union for Conservation of Nature performed a conservation assessment in 2017, which listed Canaima National Park as an area of significant concern, citing ineffective protection and management.
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Canaima National Park is the second largest park in Venezuela, afterParima-Tapirapecó, and sixth biggest national park in the world. It is roughly the same size as Belgium or Maryland. The park protects part of theGuayanan Highlands moist forests ecoregion.[2]
About 65% of the park is occupied by plateaus of rock calledtepuis, which are a kind of table-top mountain millions of years old, with vertical walls and almost flat tops. These constitute a unique biological environment and are also of great geological interest. Their sheer cliffs and waterfalls includingAngel Falls, which is the highest waterfall in the world, at 979 metres (3,212 ft).
The most famous tepuis in the park areMount Roraima, the tallest and easiest to climb, andAuyantepui, the site of Angel Falls. The tepuis are sandstone and date back to a time when South America and Africa were part of a super-continent.
The park is home to indigenousPemon Indians, part of theCarib linguistic group. The Pemon have an intimate relationship with the tepuis, and believe they are the home of the 'Mawari' spirits. The park is relatively remote, with only a few roads connecting towns. Most transport within the park is done by light plane from the airstrips built by various Capuchin missions, or by foot and canoe.
Canaima has a varied fauna, which is distributed throughout the park according to multiple environmental factors such as altitude and vegetation type.[3] Among the species found are:
Canaima National Park is among one of several dozen regions in Venezuela that has been identified as anImportant Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBAs) byBirdLife International, a global cooperative of non-governmental organizations focused on the conservation of the world’s birds and their natural habitats.
There are over 300 botanicalspecies endemic only toLa Gran Sabana. Some endemic plant species are categorized as "carnivorous," which are thus the food supply (mainly insects) that are so scarce in the mountains.
The park includes the entire watershed of the right bank of theCaroní River and two of the highest waterfalls in the world, Angel Falls and theKukenán, as well as plenty of waterfalls of lower altitude.
The only land form are thetepuis, that are plateaus which are unique features, among which are its vertical and nearly flat tops, although there are several tepuis that do not meet these rules. Geologically they are remnants of a sedimentary cover composed of very ancient sandstone that is superimposed on a base ofigneous rocks (mainlygranite) that is even older (nearly three billion years).
Their summits are home to a substantial amount of specific endemic species, both plant and animal. These have a geological formations ranging between 1.5 and 2 billion years, which makes them one of the oldest formations in the world.[4][5]
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As of 1993, Canaima National Park was reported to receive approximately 100,000 tourists every year, with 90% visiting its plateaus.[6] Only a select few of its tepuis are accessible to visitors, with those includingRoraima andAuyán-tepui. Angel Falls is also a popular tourist spot, where visitors can canoe through the park’s vast rainforest.[7]
Canaima is the name given to the fictional Californian coastal town (which was filmed inCambria, California) where the movieArachnophobia is supposed to take place. The introductory and jungle scenes of the movie were filmed in the national park.[8]
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