San Carlos de Río Negro
Encyclopedia
San Carlos de Rio Negro is a town in Venezuela's
Amazonas State
.
San Carlos de Río Negro is a small city of about 1200 inhabitants in the Venezuelan
state of Amazonas
. It serves as the administrative capital of the municipal district of Río Negro
, inhabited primarily by Amerind
people, in particular the Yanomami and Baniwa peoples. It sits on the opposite side of the Rio Negro from the Colombian city of San Felipe.
. The expedition moved into the area to explore the extent of the limits of exploration as defined by the Treaty of Madrid
between the Crowns of Portugal and Spain. José Solano y Bote set up his exploration base there on the banks of the Rio Negro with the few men that had survived the trek up the Orinoco River
. Most of the men that accompanied the expedition, including the famous Swedish botanist Pehr Löfling
, succumbed to tropical diseases, especially yellow fever
.
In May of 1800, the explorers Alexander von Humboldt
and Aimé Bonpland
visited the town, constituting the southernmost point of their expedition of the Amazon Basin
.
, an important fluvial
artery that connects the Amazon Basin
with the Orinoco River, thus uniting Venezuela
, Colombia
and Brazil
, and is 65 metres (213.3 ft) above sea level. Within the city is a rocky formation called Piedra del Cocuy
, an excellent climbing place in one of the most bio-diverse
areas on Earth
.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
Amazonas State
Amazonas (Venezuelan state)
Amazonas State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided.The state capital is Puerto Ayacucho. The capital until the early 1900s was San Fernando de Atabapo. Although named after the Amazon River, most of the state is drained by the Orinoco. Amazonas State covers a total surface...
.
San Carlos de Río Negro is a small city of about 1200 inhabitants in the Venezuelan
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
state of Amazonas
Amazonas (Venezuelan state)
Amazonas State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided.The state capital is Puerto Ayacucho. The capital until the early 1900s was San Fernando de Atabapo. Although named after the Amazon River, most of the state is drained by the Orinoco. Amazonas State covers a total surface...
. It serves as the administrative capital of the municipal district of Río Negro
Río Negro Municipality
The Río Negro Municipality is one of the seven municipalities that makes up the southern Venezuelan state of Amazonas and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 2,660....
, inhabited primarily by Amerind
Amerind
Amerind may refer to:* Amerind peoples, neologism for Indigenous peoples of the Americas* Amerind Foundation, a non-profit, museum and archaeological research facility* Amerind languages, putative higher-level language family...
people, in particular the Yanomami and Baniwa peoples. It sits on the opposite side of the Rio Negro from the Colombian city of San Felipe.
History
The city of San Carlos de Río Negro was founded in 1759 as a camp setup by the expedition captained by José Solano y BoteJose Solano y Bote
Don José de Solano y Bote Carrasco y Díaz , marquess of Socorro, was a Spanish Naval officer.He served an extensive career in the Spanish Navy starting at the age of 16 until his death in 1806. Shortly after joining the Spanish navy in 1742, he participated in the Battle of Toulon , where the...
. The expedition moved into the area to explore the extent of the limits of exploration as defined by the Treaty of Madrid
Treaty of Madrid
Treaty of Madrid may refer to:*Treaty of Madrid , in which France renounced claims in Italy, surrendered Burgundy to Spain, and abandoned sovereignty over Flanders and Artois....
between the Crowns of Portugal and Spain. José Solano y Bote set up his exploration base there on the banks of the Rio Negro with the few men that had survived the trek up the Orinoco River
Orinoco
The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...
. Most of the men that accompanied the expedition, including the famous Swedish botanist Pehr Löfling
Pehr Löfling
Pehr Löfling was a Swedish botanist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus.-Biography:Löfling was born in Tolvfors Bruk, Gävle , Sweden. He studied at the University of Uppsala where he attended courses taught by Carolus Linnaeus...
, succumbed to tropical diseases, especially yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
.
In May of 1800, the explorers Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
and Aimé Bonpland
Aimé Bonpland
Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a French explorer and botanist.Bonpland's real name was Goujaud, and he was born in La Rochelle, a coastal city in France. After serving as a surgeon in the French army, and studying under J. N...
visited the town, constituting the southernmost point of their expedition of the Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
.
Geography
The city is located a few kilometers from the mouth of the Casiquiare canalCasiquiare canal
The Casiquiare river is a distributary of the upper Orinoco flowing southward into the Rio Negro, in Venezuela, South America. As such, it forms a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the largest river on the planet that links two major river systems, a...
, an important fluvial
Fluvial
Fluvial is used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them...
artery that connects the Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
with the Orinoco River, thus uniting Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and is 65 metres (213.3 ft) above sea level. Within the city is a rocky formation called Piedra del Cocuy
Piedra del Cocuy
Piedra del Cocuy is a natural monument located in the triple border of Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela in the limits of the Amazon and the Orinoco Basins...
, an excellent climbing place in one of the most bio-diverse
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
areas on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.