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Roraya Peak is often surrounded by clouds, making it a floating island. | Credit: Martin Harvey/Getty Images
Quick facts
Name: Roraya Peak
Location: Tripion between Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana
Coordinates: 5.131793939771963, -60.758709443048986
Why it’s amazing: The mountain looks like a floating island from the sky.
Mount Roraya is a plateau with almost vertical sides, sitting on the triple border point between Brazil, Venezuela and Guiana. The plateau is often surrounded by a ring of clouds, which makes the top of the top look like an island floating in the sky.
The mountain towers of 9.219 feet (2810 meters) above the surrounding savannah, ran as a giant board. Geologists call this type of Tapui formation, which means “house of the gods” in the language of the peman, the local indigenous people. Pemon believes that Tapus is sacred and that Roraima Mountain is the stump of a supernatural tree that holds all the fruits and vegetables of the world until a mythical figure named Makunama did not endure it International Business TimesS
But scientists have another explanation for how Mount Roraya appeared. Tepuis is found exclusively in South America and more specially in Venezuela and West Guyana, where they number more than 100. According to The The London Geological SocietyTepuis are the remnants of a huge block of sandstone that formed in this region about 1.8 billion years ago, as large sand dunes slowly harden into a rock.
Over the next 1.5 billion years, other species of rocks have accumulated at the top of the sandbox, but these layers were destroyed about 180 million years ago, according to geological society. The wind and water then went to work on the sandbox, carving the giant, steep plateau we see today, according to Geological scienceS Finally, the geological lift has lifted a plateau to its present height, according to Geology Science.
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Like other Tepuis, the Roraima Mountain Summit has an “Lost World” ecosystem, which is sheltered from the surrounding region for about 70 million to 90 million years, According to a 2012 studyS
The meeting of the Roraima Mountain has a rare ecosystem. | Credit: Robertharding/Alamy
Much remains unknown to the way Tepui’s ecosystems have gathered and developed, but the researchers believe that the high part of the flora and fauna at the top is endemic, which means that they do not meet elsewhere. For example, about a third of the vegetation found at the top of all the tepui, including carnivorous plants and orchids, is endemic, according to World Wildlife FundS
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However, the 2012 study found that these ecosystems were not completely isolated. Researchers have analyzed the DNA of four species of wood frogs living on individual tepui to determine if these species have had any contact with each other in the last 70 million years. Scientists have found that frogs share a common ancestor 5.3 million years ago, which suggests that tree frogs – and perhaps other beings – can migrate up and down the rocks of current formations.
Rare nectar birds and other unusual creatures such as Roraima’s black frog (Choursophrynella Qules). crystal water pools and streams which feed the waterfalls down the sides of the Tapui. These stunts are powered by rainwater and include the Crystal Valley Falls and the triple points.
The Roraya Mountain Summit and its incredible views are available to tourists, but climbing to the top requires a multi -day hike via challenging terrain, according to Geology Science.
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