Venezuela-Brazil

[ian mckenzie]

Anyone been to the quartzite tepuis of this region?  Am curious/interested...

 

[nickwilliams]

Ian,

I had a plan to organise a trip to this area many years ago (it was going to be the next thing after Belize, but I then got sidetracked) and somewhere I probably still have a file of info. I collected. I'll see if I can dig it out for you if you want.

Nick.

 

[ian mckenzie]

Nick:  Is it e-mailable?  I've recently changed my postal address.

 

[graham]

Ian

Take a quick look at http://www.ubss.org.uk/resources/proceedings/vol20/UBSS_Proc_20_3_187-200.pdf if you Google the clearly Brazilian author you'll find an email address. I'm sure he could help.

 

[seddon]

OUCC were on Roraima tepui (Venezuela) in '05. Go to the Oxford Uni website and you'll find a write up there.

Worth a visit but access is delicate (or physically very difficult, depending on where you go)

 

[ian mckenzie]

I'm sure he could help.

Could, and has.  Awhile back he told me that in February Brazilian cavers explored a new deep tepui cave, Abismo Guy Collet, at -671m the deepest quartzite cave in the world.  All the deep ones are in tepuis. 

BTW, tepuis have been exposed to the elements for over a hundred million years, the oldest surfaces on earth.  Apparently their caves are formed by solution, which makes them karst features?

 

[graham]

Most definitely karst features.

 

[Darkstar]

I was caving out in Brazil with a local group in October 2007.  Let me know if I can help with contacts etc.

 

[ian mckenzie]

I was caving out in Brazil with a local group in October 2007.

Where'd you go and what'd you do?  (sorry for this late reply; just got back from the Bahamas )

 

[Darkstar]

I went to Sao Paulo State and visited the caves in two of the State Parks (PETAR and Intervales).  It was a really good trip, I spent two and a half weeks out there as a friend was getting married.

 

[Gina]

Where'd you go and what'd you do?  (sorry for this late reply; just got back from the Bahamas )

Ooh, where did you go in the Bahamas?  I have not long got back from there  8). I visited some sub-aerial caves on Eleuthera and Long Island, really fascinating systems, plenty of bats and cockroaches, and lots of friendly people 

 

[ian mckenzie]

A week on San Salvador Island at the research station, learning about aeolian karst and flank-margin caves.