Mount Roraima (also known as Roraima Tepui or Cerro Roraima in
Spanish, and Monte Roraima in Portuguese), is the highest of the
Pakaraima chain of tepui plateau in South America.First described by
the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in 1596, its 31 km² summit
area is defended by 400m (1,300 ft) tall cliffs on all sides.
The mountain includes the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana.
Mount Roraima lies on the Guiana Shield in the southeastern corner
of Venezuela's 30,000 km² Canaima National Park forming the
highest peak of Guyana's Highland Range. The tabletop mountains
of the park are considered some of the oldest geological
formations on Earth, dating back to some two billion years
ago in the Precambrian Era.
The highest point in Guyana and the highest point of the
Brazilian state of Roraima both lie on the plateau, but Venezuela
and Brazil have higher mountains. The triple border point is
at 5°12'08N, 60°44'07W, but the mountain's highest point is
Maverick Rock, 2,810 m, at the south end of the plateau and
wholly within Venezuela.
