Pico da Neblina
Mountain · 3,014 m
Pico da Neblina is a mountain rising to 3,014 metres (9,888 ft) in Brazil and Venezuela, in the South America region. The summit stands on the border between them.
Pico da Neblina (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpiku dɐ neˈblĩnɐ], literally "Mist Peak") is the highest mountain in Brazil, at 2,995.30 metres (9,827 ft) above sea level. It rises in northwestern Amazonas, in the Serra da Neblina of the Serra do Imeri, near the southern edge of the Guiana Highlands. The summit lies about 687 m (2,254 ft) inside Brazil. Nearby Pico 31 de Março, the country's second-highest summit at 2,974.18 m (9,758 ft), lies directly on the Brazil–Venezuela border. Pico da Neblina is the highest point of the Guiana Shield and the highest point in South America east of the Andean cordilleras.
Yanomami communities of the Cauaburis region call the mountain Yaripo, usually translated as "Mountain of the Winds". The name also covers the high ridge carrying Pico da Neblina and Pico 31 de Março. Yaripo is sacred in Yanomami belief. Sites along the route to the summit figure in ancestral stories and in rituals concerning spirits and the natural world. The summit is inside Pico da Neblina National Park and the Yanomami Indigenous Territory. The Brazilian national park was created in 1979.
The mountain rises steeply above the lowlands of the upper Rio Negro basin.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Pico da Neblina (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Elevation
- 3,014 m (9,888 ft)
- Global rank
- #230 of 641 indexed
- Region
- South America (#21)
- Countries
- Brazil, Venezuela
- Coordinates
- 0.8000°, -66.0333°
Of the 641 named summits indexed in YearMaps, Pico da Neblina ranks #230 by elevation, below Tate-yama (3,015 m) and above Mount Oku (3,011 m).
- Ranges:
- Wilhelmina Gebergte (South America), Tumuc-Humac Mountains (South America)
- Neighbouring summits:
- Mount Roraima (2,772 m), Pico do Jabre (1,197 m), Pico Paraná (1,877 m)
More about Pico da Neblina
Geography
Pico da Neblina rises in the Serra do Imeri of northwestern Amazonas, near the Venezuelan frontier, with its summit in the municipality of Santa Isabel do Rio Negro. Pico da Neblina National Park extends eastward into São Gabriel da Cachoeira. Of the park's area, 70.79 percent lies in Santa Isabel do Rio Negro and 29.21 percent in São Gabriel da Cachoeira.
The summit lies within the national park and the Yanomami Indigenous Territory. The park also overlaps the Balaio, Médio Rio Negro II and Cué-Cué Marabitanas Indigenous Territories. Indigenous territories cover nearly 72 percent of the park, with the Yanomami territory alone covering just over half.
Pico da Neblina National Park was created on 5 June 1979 along the Venezuelan frontier.
Geology and topography
Pico da Neblina rises from the western Guiana Shield, part of the ancient Amazonian Craton. The Neblina massif lies near the southern edge of the Pantepui highlands, separated from other high mountain blocks of the Guiana Shield by much lower ground. It extends for about 50 km (31 mi) from north to south and 20 km (12 mi) from east to west, with most of the massif in Venezuela.
The upper mountain rests on ancient crystalline rock and is built largely from the Neblina Formation, with quartz-rich sandstone, quartzite and conglomeratic rock, some of it altered by metamorphism. The quartz-rich beds wear away more slowly than the surrounding rock, leaving cliffs and narrow ridges.
Human history and exploration
Long before surveyors and naturalists reached the upper mountain, Yanomami communities travelled through the country around Yaripo. Some paths toward the summit follow old migration routes. Along the way are former dwelling sites, hunting and food-gathering grounds, shelters, lakes and places related to hekura spirits.
Yaripo is sacred in Yanomami belief and is understood as a dwelling place of spirits. Yanomami park councillor Salomão Mendonça Ramos recounted the story of Yoyoma, a great shaman who came to know Yaripo through a spiritual vision. Sacred sites lie along the route toward the summit and on the mountain itself. Shamans refer to Yaripo in rituals concerning spirits and forces of the natural world.
European naturalists may have seen the Neblina massif in the nineteenth century.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Pico da Neblina (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Pico da Neblina: Key Facts
| Topographic prominence | 2,886 m |
|---|---|
| Mountain range | Cerro de la Neblina |
Facts from Wikidata Q739484 (CC0).
