Meta
Meta is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 5.31°, -70.71°
About Meta
The Meta River is a major left tributary of the Orinoco River in eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela, South America. The Meta originates in the Eastern Ranges of the Andes and flows through the Meta Department, Colombia as the confluence of the Humea, Guatiquía and Guayuriba rivers. It flows east-northeastward across the Llanos Orientales ("Eastern Plains") of Colombia following the direction of the Meta Fault. The Meta forms the northern boundary of Vichada Department, first with Casanare Department, then with Arauca Department, and finally with Venezuela, down to Puerto Carreño where it flows into the Orinoco.
The Meta River is 1,100 km (680 mi) long and its drainage basin is 103,000 km2 (40,000 mi2). The Meta divides the Colombian Llanos in two different parts: the western portion on the left bank is more humid, receives the relatively nutrient-rich sediments from the Andean mountain range and therefore soils and tributaries are also nutrient-rich, while the eastern portion, high plain or altillanura, drains not to the Meta river but to the Orinoco, has a longer dry season and soils and surface waters are oligotrophic (nutrient poor).
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Meta River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Meta in Depth
History
In 1531, while exploring the Orinoco River, Diego de Ordáz became the first European to discover the estuarine delta of the Meta. Following indications of a gold country at the headwaters of the river – the "Meta Province" – he and his companions navigated the Meta upstream for 50 days until, due to the seasonally low water level, they could make no further progress and had to turn back without having achieved anything. The first Europeans to reach the headwaters of the Meta at the foot of the Eastern Cordillera were the participants of an expedition led by the conquistador Georg Hohermuth von Speyer in 1536.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Meta River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Meta: Key Facts
| Length | 1,000 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 6,496 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 93,800 km² |
| Mouth | Orinoco River |
| Drainage system | Amazon basin |
| Tributaries | Cusiana River, Casanare River, Cravo Sur River, Guachiría River, Guatiquía River, Manacacías River, Metica River, Pauto River |
Facts from Wikidata Q655251 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Meta: Quick Answers
- Where is Meta?
- Meta is located in Colombia and Venezuela, at 5.3073° N, 70.7119° W.
- Are there dams on the Meta?
- No dam on the Meta is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.