Acarai Mountains

Acarai Mountains
Akarai Mountains
Highest point
Peakunnamed point
Elevation1,009 m (3,310 ft)
Coordinates1°22′N 59°11′W / 1.367°N 59.183°W / 1.367; -59.183
Naming
Native nameSerra do Acaraí (Portuguese)
Geography
Acarai Mountains is located in Guyana
Acarai Mountains
Acarai Mountains
Location in Guyana
CountryGuyana
Range coordinates1°50′N 57°30′W / 1.833°N 57.500°W / 1.833; -57.500
Borders onTumuk Humak Mountains

The Acarai Mountains (also, Akarai Mountains) (Dutch: Acaraí gebergte; Portuguese: Serra do Acaraí) is a mountain range in the southern part of the Tigri Area on the border with Brazil. The Tigri area is a disputed territory of Guyana and Suriname. The Acarai Mountains are a wet, forested highland region of low mountains and is one of four mountain ranges in Guyana, the others being the Imataka, Kanuku and Pakaraima mountains. The headwaters of the Essequibo River, the longest river in Guyana, and the Courantyne River, have their sources in this range.[1] The actual source of the Essequibo was discovered in 2013 by a Guyanese-German team.[2] The mountain range was first mentioned in 1821 by A.H. Brué as Sierra do Acaray.[1]

This range is home to a single village of Wai-Wais, the descendants of surviving tribes that were once believed extinct. The village was first mentioned around 1837.[3]

The unnamed high point of this range is located at 1°22′N 59°11′W / 1.367°N 59.183°W / 1.367; -59.183, and has an altitude of 1,009 metres (3,310 ft). This range extends to the east, where it becomes the Tumuk Humak Mountains along the border of Suriname and French Guiana with Brazil.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië - Page 24 - Akarai-gebergte". Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). 1916. PDF. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Guyanese-German team discovers legendary source of the Essequibo River". Kaieteur News Online. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  3. ^ "MAIN AMERINDIAN GROUPS UP TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY". Guyana.org. Retrieved 23 June 2020.