Orinoco River, South American river system in Venezuela and Colombia
The Orinoco is a river system in Venezuela and Colombia that flows through rainforest and savanna before reaching the Atlantic in a delta. Sandbars and wooded islands divide the stream into many branches, especially near the mouth where the water turns brackish.
German expeditions traveled the river in the 16th century searching for El Dorado, the legendary land of gold. Later the stream became a trade route for raw materials from the interior, and small ports grew along the banks.
The Warao live in stilt houses along the delta channels and travel daily by canoe between settlements. Their weaving art using moriche palm fiber appears in baskets and hammocks made in small workshops by the water.
Large vessels travel up to 270 kilometers (167 miles) upstream connecting port facilities with the Atlantic. Smaller boats run between riverside settlements and transport goods and passengers through the branching river network.
The Casiquiare canal connects this river system naturally with the Amazon basin and forms the only natural link between two major South American river systems. Water flows there year-round in both directions depending on the water levels of the two drainage areas.
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