Tepui - a mountain-plateau, the view which you can see on the photos. Average height ch tepui up 15

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Surely the lost world tepui lies on the border of Brazil, Venezuela and Guiana. Eye traveler from afar attracted huge stone plateau, wrapped in clouds ch rise high above the forest green plains in the sky. Here settled its prehistoric creatures Arthur Conan Doyle, writing fascinating adventure novel "The Lost World". In fact, dinosaurs and other creatures long extinct primitive and savage and brutal tribes never lived here, but the animals and plants in this tropical kingdom of eternal cold and rain, in fact, as if on another planet, in no way connected with the outside world. Try to get to the mysterious world tepui ...
American tepui is the oldest ґeolohichnym formation on Earth, ch which survived to this day and is known as Roraima formation that comes from the tepui Roraima. According to scientists they Guiana crystal panel, composed of quartzite and sandstone encountered in several stages during 3,6-0,8 billion years-and to our time. That is the same age of life on our planet.
Tepui - a mountain-plateau, the view which you can see on the photos. Average height ch tepui up 1500-1800 meters ch above sea although ranging from 300 to 3000 meters. The highest part of the Guiana Shield is concentrated in its eastern part. Here tepui reaching heights of over 2,000 meters, such tepui Ayanґana or Vokomonґ in Guiana. However tallest tepui in the south - on the border of Venezuela and Brazil - Sierra de la Neblina - more than 3,000 meters above the sea.
Climate tepui characterized by daily rains and unusually high humidity and soil. Here begin the world's highest waterfall, Angel in particular. The temperature in the rainforest at the foot tepui may be 30 degrees Celsius, and their tops in cloudy weather, and the clouds are always only 5-6. Extremely heavy conditions for life on the plateau ch led to what at altitudes above 1,500 meters wildlife is pretty poor. The solid sandstone is very difficult to fragmentation of plant roots, and constant rains wash away the soil, so plants nestled in the smallest ch crevices and cracks in the rock.
Permanent sky soil and poverty have led to much of the plant moved predatory lifestyle - they spit on insects, not fotosyntezuyut. Feature tepui is that there are very large variety ch of orchids and some of them also went to predation.
The fauna and flora of the tepui area is a huge white spot on the map of South America, only a few of them are more or less well understood. In particular, these include the already mentioned Roraima in Venezuela, Ivokrama-Mabura and Kayteur in Guiana, and Surinam in Tafelberґ Saul in French Guiana.
Based on research in these areas, compiled a preliminary list of species. Thus, in 2001, were counted more than 12,500 species of flowering plants (excluding data from Brazil and Colombia). However, this list is far from complete, for example in the part of the Venezuelan Guiana Shield revealed 672 species of ferns, and a "Guiana" - 638 species. Spivstavyvshy these lists, the researchers ch found that they differ by 74%, that number only some ferns are about 1000 species!
Expected higher vascular plants, according to biologists, is 13,5-15 thousand species. Of all the wealth of flora 40-43% are endemic Guiana Plateau, in other words speaking, ch more than 6,000 kinds of anywhere else on Earth do not occur. InHowever number ch of endemics at elevations over 1,500 meters above the sea is about 65% - a typical endemism on islands in the ocean, but not for land! In addition to plants, scientists have discovered 590 species of lichens.
Today already known 1850 distribution of vertebrates in the territory of Guiana Plateau, including the Brazilian part of it. Thus, the 269-installed distribution and amphibian species, which is 5.5% of the world's fauna (there are more 5,000 amphibians), 295 species of reptiles (3.6% - 8100 species in the world), ch 1004 species of birds (10% - 10004 species in the world) and 282 mammal species (6% - 4,600 species in the world). The greatest diversity among insects is expected to already installed ch distribution ch of 7500 species of butterflies.
Since 1962, the territory of the Guiana Plateau, the Venezuelan government established 7 national parks, which host thousands of tourists, 29 natural monuments and 2 biosphere reserves, which is 142,280 square kilometers or 15% of the country. In Guiana, the figure is much lower - only 627 square kilometers (3% of the country). In Suriname available 18 protected ch areas covering 7290 square kilometers (4.4% of the country). In French Guiana protected areas exist on the tepui, although planned 18 area of 6710 square kilometers (7.5% of the area of