The top of Roraima is a mesa, with elevations ranging from about 8,500 feet to
over 9,000 feet. The tepui produces the headwaters of four rivers that flow
into three different countries - Guyana, Brazil, and Venezuela. This is why
the local indians long ago dubbed Roraima as "The Mother of All Waters".
The name Roraima (which was originally Roroima) comes from the indian words
"roroi", which means bluish-green, and "ma" which means big - hence, big, bluish-green
mountain.
I hope you enjoy my photos of Roraima Tepui in Venezuela.
This is the group that hiked to the top of Roraima Tepui.
In the back row was our porter, then Sara and Marco from Portugal,
then on the back right was Zoe, from England. In the front row
there's Marcos our guide and cook, Fiona from Scotland, and myself.
Gunter, who also made the trip with us, hurried to the top in record
time and
was off and away by the time the rest of us gathered for this photo.
I've decided that "Gunter" is German for mountain goat.
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There seems to be a perpetual cloud that exists between Roraima and Kukunen
tepuis. Around sundown, that cloud grows and engulfs the top of Roraima.
Our group was hurrying back to our campsite from triple point to avoid being
out after sunset without flashlights. The dark and fog and difficult terrain
would've made it rough going.
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The top of Roraima has been described as a rain desert. The terrain can be
very bleak, with nothing but oddly shaped black rocks. However, there are
also many oases of vibrant plant life, pools of crystal clear water, and
bogs of boot-sucking mud.
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Sometimes thick wisps of mist roll past while the sun shines
brighly above.
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