The 'Orinoco Delta', also known as the 'Deltaic System' (''Sistema Deltáico''), is a vast
river delta of the
Orinoco River, located in eastern
Venezuela.
The Orinoco Delta is fan-shaped, formed by the Orinoco River as it splits into numerous
distributaries, called ''caños'', which meander through the the delta on their way to the sea. The main distributary is called the Rio Grande, which empties south-southeast through the southern portion of the delta, and the second major distributary is
Caño Mánamo, which runs northward along the western edge of the delta.
The delta includes large areas of permanent
wetlands as well as seasonally-flooded
freshwater swamp forests. The coastline of the delta is fringed with
mangroves.
The Orinoco Delta is characterized by being non-centric, lagoon lacking, and
oceanic, somewhat similar to the delta of the
Niger River. It is divided in two sections: the principal, at the northernmost part of the system, located between
Caño Mánamo and the left shore of
Caño Araguao, where the majority of villages are established, including the state capital,
Tucupita; and the secondary, between the right shore of Caño Araguao and
Río Grande.
The Deltaic System one of the nine geographical regions into which
Venezuela is divided. It is located in the whole extension of
Delta Amacuro State and a few kilometers of
Monagas State, comprehending the totality of the mouths of the
Orinoco.
External links
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Geo-Environmental Characterization of the Delta del Orinoco (University of Texas)
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Orinoco wetlands (WWF)
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Orinoco Delta swamp forests (WWF)
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Guianian mangroves (WWF)