Abstract
The Gran Sabana in tropical Venezuela, with its huge mist shrouded, mesa or tepui that tower over 1,000 m above the lowlands, undoubtedly form one of the world’s more spectacular landscapes. These vertically walled quartzite table mountains are composed of Pre-Cambrian Roraima Group quartzites and sandstones, and crest a series of regional planation surfaces. Because of their isolation the summits are often biologically unique. Extremely long periods of geologic stability and weathering have produced a vast range of karstic forms in the quartzites, such as caves, towers, grikes, and smaller karren. Quartzite is not a rock usually associated with karst forms, but here they are expressed better than anywhere else in the world. Sections of the Gran Sabana and its tepui are listed as World Heritage, and its remoteness and often-poor accessibility possibly make it the most poorly explored of the great geomorphological landscapes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aubrecht R, Brewer-Carías C, Šmída B, Audy M, Kovácik L (2008) Anatomy of biologically mediated opal speleothems in the world’s largest sandstone cave Cueva Charles Brewer, Chimantá Plateau, Venezuela. Sediment Geol 203:181–195
Audy M, Šmída B (n.d.) Speleologie v kvarcitových masivech. Retrieved 4 September 2007, from http://audy.speleo.cz/quarzit/index.html
Briceño HO, Schubert C (1990) Geomorphology of the Gran Sabana, Guyana Shield, Southeastern Venezuela. Geomorphology 3:125–141
Briceño HO, Schubert C, Paolini J (1990) Table-mountain geology and surficial geochemistry: Chimantá Massif Venezuelan Guyana Shield. J S Amer Earth Sci 3:179–194
Carreño R, Blanco F (2004) Notas sobre la exploración del sistema kárstico de Roraima Sur, Estado Bolívar. Bol Soc Venezolana Espeleología 38:45–52
Chalcraft D, Pye K (1984) Humid tropical weathering of quartzite in southeastern Venezuela. Z Geomorph NF 28:321–332
Doerr SH (1999) Karst-like landforms and hydrology in quartzites of the Venezuelan Guyana shield: Pseudokarst or real karst? Z Geomorph NF 43:1–17
Galán C, Herrera F, Carreño R, Pérez MA (2004) Roraima Sur System, Venezuela: 10.8km, World’s longest quartzite cave. Bol Soc Venezolana Espeleología 38:53–60
George U (1989) Venezuela’s islands in time. Nat Geogr 175:526–561
Martini JEJ (2000) Dissolution of Quartz and Silicate minerals. In: Klimchouk A, Ford DC, Palmer AN, Dreybrodt W (eds) Speleogenesis – evolution of karst aquifers. NSS, Huntsville, pp 171–174
Mecchia M, Piccini L (1999) Hydrogeology and SiO2 geochemistry of the Aonda cave system, Auyán-Tepui, Boívar, Venezuela. Bol Soc Venezolana Espeleología 33:1–18
Piccini L (1995) Karst in siliceous rocks: Karst landforms and caves in the Auyán-tepui massif, Bolivar, Venezuela. Int J Speleol 24:2–13
Pouyllau M, Seurin M (1985) Pseudo-karst dans des roches gréso-quartzitiques de la formation Roraima. Karstologia 5:45–52
Tate GHH (1938) Notes on the Phelps Venezuelan expedition. Geogr Rev 28:452–474
Urbani F (1976) Opalo, Calcedonia y Calcita en la Cueva del Cerro Autano (Am 11), Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela (in Spanish, English summary). Bol Soc Venezuela Espeleologia 7(14):129–145
Urbani F, Szczerban E (1974) Venezuelan caves in non-carbonate rocks: a new field in karst research. NSS News 32:233–235
White WB, Jefferson GL, Haman JF (1966) Quartzite karst in southeastern Venezuela. Int J Speleol 2:309–316
Wray RAL (1997a) A global review of solutional weathering forms on quartz sandstone. Earth Sci Rev 42:137–160
Wray RAL (1997b) Quartzite dissolution: Karst or pseudokarst? Cave Karst Sci, Trans Brit Cave Res Assoc 24(2):81–86
Yanes CE, Briceño HO (1993) Chemical weathering and the formation of pseudo-karst topography in the Roraima Group, Gran Sabana, Venezuela. Chem Geol 107:341–343
Young RW, Young ARM (1992) Sandstone landforms. Springer, Berlin
Young RW, Wray RAL, Young ARM (2009) Sandstone landforms. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wray, R.A.L. (2009). The Gran Sabana: The World’s Finest Quartzite Karst?. In: Migon, P. (eds) Geomorphological Landscapes of the World. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3055-9_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3055-9_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-3054-2
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-3055-9
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)