Venezuela’s Hydrographic Basins: Red River, Slope, and Atlantic
Red River, Slope, and Atlantic Basins
A river is a set of surface water courses, streams, and rivers channeled that pour their waters into a river, lake, or sea.
Orinoco Basin
The Orinoco basin has a length of 880,000 km² and 640,000 km² are within our territory. The Orinoco River is 2150 km long, extending from the thin bill Chalbaud to the Atlantic. The river in its upper course presents a series of rapids (Atures and Maypures being the largest). In its course, there are 574 islands (the largest being Isla del Ratón).
The Orinoco River is divided into three sectors:
- High Orinoco: Runs from its source to the Atures stream, about 990 km. A portion of the water is sent into the Black River through Casiquiare.
- Middle Orinoco: From the Atures stream until Piacoa at the beginning of the delta (950 km). In this part, it receives the rivers Cinaruco, Capanaparo, Arauca, and Apure. The Apure is the main collector river of the plains. These descend from the Andes and are rushing, but on reaching the plain, they slow down.
- Orinoco Delta: The Orinoco empties into the Atlantic through a delta (30,000 km²). The delta arises because the river deposited sediment from its tributaries to reach the Atlantic. The sediments are islands separated by creeks and arms that form the delta. The pipes and arms are Manamo pipe, bore, Tucupita Araguao, and Rio Grande arm.
Mountain rivers deposit sediment on creep and flat land. These are the Canagua, Santo Domingo, Masparro, Poconó, and Portuguese rivers. From the north, the Orinoco River receives water from the central and eastern plains. These rivers have low flow and rainfall is not abundant. In drought, water is reduced. The most important rivers are the Guárico, Guariquito, Manapire, Zuata, Pao, and Carisma. From the south, the Orinoco receives water from the Guayana Shield, which has high rainfall averages. The most important are the Cuchivero, Caura, and Caroní rivers.
St. John and Guanipa River Basins
Composed of the rivers between the delta and the Paria Peninsula. The San Juan River rises in the southeastern foothills of the mountain, and the Guanipa River rises on the table of the same name.
Caribbean Basin and its Basins
Lake Maracaibo and Gulf of Venezuela
The rivers rise north of the Andes and east of the Sierra de Perijá. The most important hydrographic element is Lake Maracaibo, with 13,820 km² of surface and 728 km of coastline, with a maximum depth of 50 m. The rivers feed Lake Maracaibo. The most important are the Palmar, Santa Ana, Catatumbo, Escalante, Chama, Motatán, and Limón rivers. These are rushing rivers, and upon reaching the Lake Maracaibo depression, they become plain rivers, marshes, and lakes forming in some areas to the south.
Chama and Motatán River Basins
These rivers divide the Andes, forming valleys and alluvial terraces that allow the development of economic activities.
Northwest Basin
Small basins formed by the rivers draining the Lara-Falcón formation (Muslin, Yaracuy, and Aroa).
Northcentral Basin
In the central section, the coast is drained by small channels that remain dry for much of the year due to the dry season and semi-arid climates. In the underground, rains increase the flow or cause flooding. Among the courses, the most significant are Naiguatá and Anare. In the south, we find an area drained by the Capaya, handsome, and Tuy rivers.
Northeastern Basin
The rivers drain the eastern section of the coast, among which we highlight the Unare, the Neverí, and apple orchards.
Valencia Lake Basin
It is a watershed area that drains, which means that its river runoff does not reach the sea. It has an area of 364 km². In this basin, the most important water courses are the Top-cover, Tocoron, Güigüe, Maria, and Aragua.
Watersheds
Extensions of territory that lead waters to specific collectors, which may be other rivers, lakes, or the ocean.