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Kurutuik Falls
In short
In a little visited area on the border of Brazil and Guyana, near Roraima Plateau, are located several impressive waterfalls. One of the most impressive is Kurutuwu Mehru what could be translated from Carib language as Great Snail Falls.
41.3%
GPS coordinates
Location, address
Alternate names
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Map of the site
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In detail
This waterfall has formed on Ireng River (Maú River), in pristine rainforest some 90 km west from Roraima plateau.
Waterfall has two major cascades. The upper cascade falls over an overhang, but the lower one has multiple smaller steps. It falls over pink sandstone, which has formed more than 1 billion years ago, in the Stenian period. Waterfall, of course, is much younger.
Ireng River is the northernmost large river of the Amazonian basin and on this river have formed several beautiful waterfalls, including the Orinduik Falls – approximately 25 m tall falls over pure jasper.
On Socobi (Sukabi) River in the same distance from the confluence with Ireng have formed somewhat less tall waterfalls (Ando Falls?).
This area is sparsely inhabited by Patamona people. The nearest village – Kaibarupai – is located 6 km downstream and is rather isolated from any other society.
There is another, much better known waterfall in Brazil with similar Portuguese name – the beautiful Cascata do Caracol.
References
- Reinaldo Imbrozio Barbosa, Sebastião Pereira do Nascimento, Ari Alfredo Weiduschat, Fábio Bonatto, Notes on an Expedition to the Headwaters of the Maú (Ireng) River, Roraima, Brazil, Accessed on 1 April 2012
Images
Images of this remote area are rare.
- Living Sculpture by Bruce J. Morgan, General view, Accessed on 1 April 2012
- Terry Henkel Expedition, Lower cascade, Accessed on 1 April 2012
- Terry Henkel Expedition, Sight from the upper rim, Accessed on 1 April 2012
Kurutuik Falls are included in the following articles:
Linked articles
Wonders of South America
There is little doubt – South America is one of the most spectacular… maybe the most spectacular continent of the world.
There is located the second-highest mountain chain in the world, the largest rainforest, the tallest volcanoes, and the tallest and largest waterfalls. The highest biological diversity in the world is reached somewhere near the eastern ranges of the Andes in Ecuador, Peru, or Colombia.
Waterfalls
Some of the most fascinating and awe-inspiring natural monuments are waterfalls or locations where a river abruptly changes its elevation.
Top 10 waterfalls in Guyana
In Guyana are located more than 300 major waterfalls and rapids as well as countless smaller falls.
Wondermondo offers a list of the 10 most impressive of them.
Recommended books
Navigators Travel to Guyana
Navigators Travel to Guyana is the follow-up to Navigators Travel to Barbados written by Howard Liverpool. This time our intrepid explorers travel to Guyana and learn about the history and geography of the country. They also sample some of the local cuisines and have a scary encounter with a ram sheep.
Natural Wonders of the World
From the Rocky Mountains to the Great barrier Reef and everything in between, Natural Wonders of the World combines breathtaking landscape photography and illustrations with 3-D terrain models and other explanatory artworks to reveal what lies beneath the surface and explain the geological processes to show how the features were formed. Plants and animals that inhabit each environment are also included, making Natural Wonders of the World a complete celebration of our world.
