Although the mouth of the Orinoco in the Atlantic Ocean was documented by Christopher Columbus on August 1, 1498, during his third trip, his birth on the hill Delgado Chalbaud, was only explored for the first time by non-Indians in 1951, 453 years late. The source, located on the border between Venezuela and Brazil, at 1047 m altitude (02 ° 19'05 "N 63 ° 21'42" W), was explored in 1951 by a joint Franco-Venezuelan team.
The Spanish explorer Diego de Ordás was the first European to travel the Orinoco, between June and August of 1531, from its delta to its confluence with the Meta.
A little history
The Orinoco River was discovered by Vicente Yanez Finch in the year 1500, is one of the largest rivers in America (the Amazon River is the longest in America and the world), besides being one of the most abundant
Orinoco river
The Orinoco River is one of the most important rivers in South America that runs mostly through Venezuela. It is the fourth longest South American river -2800 km when considering the Orinoco-Guaviare system and 2140 km only- and, with an average flow of about 33,000 m³ / s, it is the third largest river in the world, after the Amazon and of the Congo. The Orinoco basin has an area of almost 989,000 km², of which 643 480 km², that is, 65%, remain in Venezuelan territory and the remaining 35% in Colombian territory.
Extension
The Orinoco basin has an area of almost 989,000 km², of which 643 480 km² (65%) remain in Venezuelan territory, and the remaining 35% is in Colombian territory, in the Llanos and the eastern slope of the Eastern Cordillera , a section of the great Cordillera de los Andes. This Colombian region is called Orinoquía. Of the part located in Venezuela, slightly more than half extends from the Venezuelan Andes and the Cordillera de la Costa to the northwestern bank of the Orinoco River itself (the left bank), forming most of the Venezuelan Llanos and the Delta del Orinoco. And the southern part of the basin collects most of the waters that come from the Venezuelan Guayana.
Relief
From the source of the Orinoco in the Cerro Delgado Chalbaud 1047 masl to its mouth, the Orinoco describes a large arc and its basin extends like a fan, which is why the northwestern part of the basin is somewhat wider than the southeast. As already indicated, the two subregions of the basin have quite different characters, due to the differences in their geological constitution. The maximum height of the basin is found in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, in Colombia (more than 5000 masl), which is part of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes of Colombia.
