Monagas - Geography

Geography

Relief

The state has many plateaus and savannas located in the southwest. In the northeast and the southeast there are deltaic savannas in which rivers such as San Juan, Guanipa, Caño Mánamo, Río Tigre flow into. In the northwest there is a group of mountains belonged to the eastern mountain range. This mountain range is divided in two massifs: the massif of el Turimiquire (in which the town of San Antonio is located) and the massif of Caripe (in which the town of Caripe is located).

Mountains

Cerro Negro (2000 m.) is the highest mountain of Monagas State.

Weather

The weather is hot in the area of the Llanos, while it is cold in the mountains located in the north of the state. The average temperature in the low areas is between 25 and 28 °C. In the area of the town of Caripe the cold temperature permits the cultivation of certain kind of typical plants from cold weathers as roses and strawberries. The level of rainfalls in the state is between 530 and 1400 mm during the year.

Hydrology

The rivers of the state belong to one of the two basins that are located in the state. The basins are the basin of Atlantic Ocean and the basin of the Orinoco River. Rivers such as Guanipa, Río Tigre, Morichal Largo, Caño Mánamo, Amana, Tonoro, Tabasca, Uracoa flow into the Orinoco River. On the other hand the rivers Guarapiche, San Juan, Río de Oro, Caripe flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers of the Atlantic Ocean basin come from the mountains located in the northwest of the state and the rivers of the Orinoco river basin come from the many plateaus located in the southwest of Monagas State and from Anzoategui State.

Vegetation

The vegetation is the intertropical one. This vegetation is adapted to the different altitudes, weathers and kinds of soil of the state. Typical trees are el araguaney, la ceiba, el jobo, el aceituno, la vera, la palma de moriche and el mangle.

Protected areas

Cueva del Guácharo National Park, was created on May 1975 by the Venezuelan government to protect the ecosystem surrounding the Guacharo’s Cave. The park has a surface area of 155 km² and covers the mountainous areas of Acosta and Caripe municipalities in Monagas state and Ribero municipality in Sucre state.

Alejandro de Humboldt National Monument can be located inside the park El Guácharo. This national monument was created in 1949 to protect the Guacharo’s Cave. This national monument is named after the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt, who visited the Guacharo’s cave in 1799.

Another protected area is Guarapiche Forestal Reserve, which protects the forests located at the bank of Guarapiche and San Juan Rivers.