Orinoco lowland, South America: characteristic, photo

If you find the northern part of the continent of South America on the map, then you can see the unusual world of the Orinoco lowland. The borders of this geographical object are the Northern Andes and the Guiana Highlands. There is a lowland on the outskirts of the continent, so it is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. They strongly affect the climatic features of the territory. Along its eastern region is the same river. From the south this area borders on the Amazonian lowland. The described territory is expressed by a wide strip with a predominantly flat relief.

It should be noted that the Orinok lowland on the map is very fast, as it is morphologically well delineated on almost all sides, except for the southern region.

Relief

It is interesting enough to study the features of the relief of such a continent as South America. The Orinoco lowland is distinguished by pronounced levels, which arose through the delamination of the surface, which originally existed before the erosion processes. Near the river Orinoco is a very low area, the level of its height does not exceed the mark of 100 m. That part of the lowland that goes to the Atlantic Ocean is represented by a dune landscape. All this territory is covered with sands, which are constantly influenced by winds.

The highest elevated areas of the lowlands, close to the mountains, are called piemonte (piedmont), which literally means "the foot of the mountain". In some places they are crossed by the Sierra. They are certain crystalline rocks of mountain ranges.

In addition, throughout the lowlands scattered mass, which rise to a height of 200-300 m. The tributaries of the local river. Orinoco share the above described plots with its valleys. The southern boundary of the region is just passing through the valley of the left tributary of Guavaire.

Climate

The Orinok lowland is in the subequatorial belt. For this region, a certain seasonality of precipitation is characteristic. They determine the climatic zones. For example, the northern plots are subject to drought, the rainy season falls on the summer and lasts only three months. This is explained quite simply: the north-east trade winds penetrate this locality much earlier than in the southern one. The last region assumes the greatest amount of precipitation - rains last about nine months (April-October). In order to be able to assess the difference, you can look at the official figures. The average annual rainfall in these two areas is significantly different: in the north - 800 mm, in the south - 1000 mm. Mostly they fall out in the form of heavy rainfall.

During the drought period, the air temperature does not drop below + 20 ° C, the average is +25 ° C. Precipitation is generally completely absent. Local residents consider this season to be winter, although astronomically this summer. The warmest months are at the beginning and end of the rains. In April and October, the air temperature can reach + 29 ° C.

Minerals

The Orinok lowland is rich in oil deposits. They are of great value to the state. Closer to the Guiana Upland found deposits of iron ore. These places are already well developed and mining of minerals is carried out continuously.

Problems of the region

Due to the peculiarity of the territory where the Orinok lowland is located, flooding of land is often observed. This occurs during the rainy season. Due to heavy rains the water level in the local rivers rises significantly, forming impassable kilometer territories. However, there is a small plus in this. At this time, the rivers become large, which greatly improves the conditions for navigation. But for this region, moving along rivers is the only transport message. When the dry season sets in, wetlands remain in these areas. And sometimes moisture evaporates from the reservoirs so much that the rivers become shallow. This is even more inconvenient. The biggest problem of this region is tropical malaria. Only one year from this disease around the world, about 2 million people die.

Flora

The Orinoco lowland (on the map of South America, its borders are clearly visible) is rich in many species of plant life. In this area, you can find several varieties of palm trees. A well-moistened soil perfectly suits them. If you look at the territory in a southerly direction, then this area is covered with dense woody plantations - gallery palm forests.

Local people grow cotton, corn and cassava. However, there is very little land suitable for agriculture. They also collect bananas, but the volume of the crop is scanty.

Fauna

The Orinok lowland, unfortunately, does not please the lands suitable for grazing animals. That is why cattle breeding is practically not developed here.

In the swampy areas, there are tapirs, bakers. From predators there are jaguars and pumas. Also there are many different representatives of rodents. In the local savannah, there are many kinds of insects that pose a danger to human life. They are mosquitoes, termites. Battleships and anteaters are found in squares with open space.