Mount Roraima - the lost world of Venezuela

Roraima is one of several table mountains located in this region. Such mountains are called tepui, by the name of an Indian tribe, who once lived in these parts. Table mountains differ by a flat surface and rise above surrounding territories on some hundreds meters, and even more.

Mount Roraima has an absolute altitude of 2,810 meters, and the plateau area on its summit is about 30 square kilometers. It is composed of solid sandstone and is part of the oldest plateau, the geological age of which is about 2 billion years. Today, this plateau is destroyed, and Mount Roraima and several other similar table mountains are its surviving parts. On the flat top of the mountain there are many swamps, rivers and small lakes.

The existence of Mount Roraim was known from the accounts of the tepuy Indians who lived in these parts. But the Europeans could not find it, lost in the jungle of the Amazon, so for a long time it was considered an invention of the Indians.

One of the first travelers to reach Mount Roraima in 1838 was Robert Schomburgk. The first Europeans to reach the top of the mountain were the botanist Everard I Thurn and Harry Perkins. This happened in December 1884. For botanists, the mountain became a real treasure. The fact is that on an isolated territory of the mountain table there are a lot of unique plants and animals that for a long time were without any contact with the outside world. There are many endemic species found on Roraima and neighboring table mountains. And two species of plants are found only on Mount Roraima and do not grow anywhere else in the world.

At the top of Roraima and its slopes there are 26 species of orchids, as well as a great variety of insectivorous plants, among which one can call the helimampor wandering and the Roraima sundew. These species have become so widespread here due to the poverty of local wetlands. Constant rains wash up the nutrient components from the soil, so the method of extracting minerals from insects is very popular among local plants. Despite the surrounding tropical landscapes, on the very mountain trees are extremely rare. And those few species that are here, have a stunted and depressed form.

The animal world of Mount Roraima is also very specific. It does not differ in biodiversity: it affects the isolation of the mountain from the surrounding landscapes and the scarcity of the plant world. But here live mice, amphibians, lizards, capybara, nosuh and several species of birds. It is interesting that many insects and animals of Roraima are painted black. The fauna of this table mountain also has a high degree of endemism. For example, here relict amphibian Koolecha halo, which does not know how to swim and jump, lives.

In this tropical region there is high cloudiness, and the Roraima mountain is often enveloped in dense clouds of fog. Streams running along its steep slopes complement the mysterious image, and her photos are a source of inspiration for science fiction writers.

The famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle created his novel "The Lost World" under the impression of stories about Roraim. His friend Colonel Vosset made an expedition to the region of table mountains and told the writer about an amazing world where unknown plants and animals were discovered.

In conclusion, I would like to add that Roraima is the most accessible and, therefore, studied canteen mountain of this region. Therefore, the table mountains of Venezuela can present the world with more than one species of new plants and animals.