ABSTRACT

Venezuela is second only to Brazil in the area covered by karst scenery. The Roraima quartzite occupies a major part of the country’s southern sector, hosting impressive vertical caves on the top of quartzite towers (known locally as tepuis), which rise abruptly from the rainforest. Many deep fissure-like caves and massive shafts occur in this area. Carbonate karst is concentrated in the northern coastal mountains of the Andean zone, the location of c. 95% of all caves recorded in Venezuela. In this area, karst is developed in carbonate rocks of Jurassic-Tertiary age, mostly as isolated outcrops usually of local extent, surrounded by noncarbonate rocks. The most significant karst is developed in five areas: Oriental, Central, Falcon, Andes, and Perija. In the Oriental area, the best-developed karst occurs in the Caripe-Mata de Mango area in the state of Monagas, where about 30 caves are developed in Cretaceous limestone. Venezuela’s most celebrated cave, the 10 200 m long Cueva del Guácharo is located in this area, protected since 1949 by the Alejandro de Humboldt Natural Monument. The central part of this area hosts significant caves in the metamorphosed limestones of the Cordillera de la Costa (Coastal Range), for example, the 4292 m long Cueva Alfredo Jahn.