La Esmeralda, Venezuela

La Esmeralda
La Esmeralda
Coordinates: 3°10′26″N 65°32′48″W / 3.17389°N 65.54667°W / 3.17389; -65.54667
Country Venezuela
StateAmazonas State
MunicipalityAlto Orinoco Municipality
Founded1758 (1758)
Elevation
225 m (738 ft)
Population
 (2013)
 • Total
20 030
Time zoneUTC−4 (VET)
ClimateAf

La Esmeralda (Ye'kuana: Medadanña[1][2] or Kadawanadunña[3]) is a small settlement in and the capital of Alto Orinoco Municipality in Venezuela’s Amazonas State. The name means “the emerald”. It is located on the shore of the Orinoco river, only 9 miles from the Casiquiare canal bifurcation that links it to the Amazon River.

The settlement contains about a hundred homes, a school, an airfield and a military outpost.

Geography

It is located on the shore of the Orinoco river, only 9 miles from the Casiquiare canal bifurcation that links it to the Amazon River.

Climate

La Esmeralda has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Climate data for La Esmeralda
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 32.0
(89.6)
32.4
(90.3)
32.4
(90.3)
31.4
(88.5)
30.4
(86.7)
29.9
(85.8)
30.0
(86.0)
30.7
(87.3)
31.6
(88.9)
31.6
(88.9)
32.0
(89.6)
31.8
(89.2)
31.4
(88.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 27.1
(80.8)
27.3
(81.1)
27.5
(81.5)
27.1
(80.8)
26.5
(79.7)
26.2
(79.2)
26.1
(79.0)
26.5
(79.7)
27.0
(80.6)
27.0
(80.6)
27.4
(81.3)
27.1
(80.8)
26.9
(80.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 22.3
(72.1)
22.3
(72.1)
22.6
(72.7)
22.8
(73.0)
22.7
(72.9)
22.6
(72.7)
22.2
(72.0)
22.3
(72.1)
22.4
(72.3)
22.5
(72.5)
22.8
(73.0)
22.4
(72.3)
22.5
(72.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 109
(4.3)
120
(4.7)
163
(6.4)
296
(11.7)
356
(14.0)
379
(14.9)
351
(13.8)
298
(11.7)
194
(7.6)
205
(8.1)
173
(6.8)
125
(4.9)
2,769
(108.9)

References

  1. ^ Monterrey, Nalúa Rosa Silva (2012) Hombres de curiara y mujeres de conuco. Etnografía de los indigenas Ye’kwana de Venezuela, Ciudad Bolívar: Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana, page 8
  2. ^ de Civrieux, Marc (1980), David M. Guss, transl., Watunna: An Orinoco Creation Cycle, San Francisco: North Point Press, page 187
  3. ^ Moreira, Maria Geralda de Almeida (2005) Em busca do território perdido: o reconhecimento daterra indígena Kaxarari no Brasil e da terra Ye'kuana do Alto Orinoco na Venezuela (1970-1002), page 158