Cerro Duida

Cerro Duida

Cerro Duida (background) as seen from La Esmeralda
Elevation 2,358 m (7,736 ft)[1]
Location
Cerro Duida

Location in Venezuela

Location Amazonas, Venezuela
Coordinates 03°30′48″N 65°37′34″W / 3.51333°N 65.62611°WCoordinates: 03°30′48″N 65°37′34″W / 3.51333°N 65.62611°W

Cerro Duida, also known as Cerro Yennamadi, is a very large tepui in Amazonas state, Venezuela.[1] It has an uneven and heavily inclined plateau, rising from highs of around 1,300–1,400 metres (4,300–4,600 ft) in the north and east to a maximum of 2,358 metres (7,736 ft) on its southwestern rim.[1] It has a summit area of 1,089 km2 (420 sq mi) and an estimated slope area of 715 km2 (276 sq mi).[1] At its foot lies the small settlement of La Esmeralda, from which the mountain can be climbed.[2]

Cerro Duida shares a common base with the much smaller (but taller) Cerro Marahuaca, located off its northeastern flank, and together they form the Duida–Marahuaca Massif.[1] Both tepuis are entirely within the bounds of Duida–Marahuaca National Park. Sandwiched between them, a massive ridge known as Cerro Petaca rises to at least 2,700 metres (8,900 ft). The much lower Cerro Huachamacari, derived from a separate base, lies to the northwest of this complex.[1]

George Henry Hamilton Tate led a major expedition of the American Museum of Natural History to Cerro Duida in 1928–1929.[2][3] Named the Tyler-Duida Expedition, it was the first to reach the mountain's summit plateau and the first to climb a tepui of the Venezuelan Amazon.[4] Although primarily a zoological expedition, much plant material was collected.[3] These herbarium collections were studied extensively by Henry Gleason, who formally described many of the mountain's plant species in a series of papers published in 1931.[5][6][7][8] This was followed by a number of important botanical explorations of Cerro Duida, first by Julian A. Steyermark in 1944 and later by Bassett Maguire in 1949 and 1950.[3][4]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huber, O. (1995). Geographical and physical features. In: P.E. Berry, B.K. Holst & K. Yatskievych (eds.) Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Volume 1. Introduction. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis. pp. 1–61.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Tate, G.H.H. & C.B. Hitchcock (January 1930). The Cerro Duida region of Venezuela. Geographical Review 20(1): 31–52. JSTOR 209125
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Huber, O. (1995). History of botanical exploration. In: P.E. Berry, B.K. Holst & K. Yatskievych (eds.) Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Volume 1. Introduction. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis. pp. 63–95.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Huber, O. (1995). Vegetation. In: P.E. Berry, B.K. Holst & K. Yatskievych (eds.) Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Volume 1. Introduction. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis. pp. 97–160.
  5. Gleason, H.A. (May 1931). Botanical results of the Tyler-Duida Expedition. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 58(5): 277–344. JSTOR 2997213
  6. Gleason, H.A. (June 1931). Botanical results of the Tyler-Duida Expedition. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 58(6): 345–404. JSTOR 2480734
  7. Gleason, H.A. (October 1931). Botanical results of the Tyler-Duida Expedition. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 58(7): 405–464. JSTOR 2480424
  8. Gleason, H.A. (November 1931). Botanical results of the Tyler-Duida Expedition. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 58(8): 465–506. JSTOR 2480621

Further reading

  • Chapman, F.M. (July 1931). Problems of the Roraima-Duida region as presented by the bird life. Geographical Review 21(3): 363–372. JSTOR 209426