birding...

Masked trogon Trogon personatus © Tomas Sigrist http://www.avisbrasilis.com.br

The state of Roraima lies in the far north of Brazil and is the northernmost and least populated state of Brazil, located in the Amazon region. It borders the states of Amazonas and Pará, as well as the nations of Venezuela and Guyana. It is still a frontier zone with agriculture, forestry and mining impinging on the wild world and indigenous peoples. When its grasslands were discovered in the mid-eighteenth century they were thought ideal cattle country. During the late 1980s there was a massive gold rush here with an influx of as many as 50,000 garimpeiros - the area's total population had been about 200,000 before. This influx in the northwest of the state was formerly the territory of the Yanomami Indians, a relatively recently discovered people.

The climate is tropical with an annual mean temperature of 26°C (78.8°F). Most of the state is located in the Amazon rainforest, with a small strip of savanna to the east. The state is rich in mineral deposits - especially gold, diamonds, cassiterite, bauxite, marble and copper. Many of these deposits are located in indigenous reserves, and illegal mining has resulted in frequent conflicts with the native population, especially that of the Yanomami and the Macuxi and allied groups.

Except in the higher mountains where the climate is cooler but very wet, Roraima has an equatorial climate. This is a type of tropical climate in which there is no dry season – all months have mean precipitation values of at least 60 mm. It is usually found at latitudes within five degrees of the equator – which are dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The equatorial climate is denoted Af in the Köppen climate classification. Tropical rainforest is the natural vegetation in equatorial regions.

The Monte Roraima National Park is located around one of the highest mountains of Venezuela, a 2,727 m high tepui known as Monte Roraima.