Orinoco

the most northerly of the three great rivers of South America. It rises in northern Brazil and flows northward, then eastward through Venezuela into the Pacific. Its mouth lies outward, that is to say, eastward of the Caribbean. In seasons of high water, boats are able to pass from the headwaters of the Amazon into those of the Orinoco by various channels. The river is navigable for a distance of about 900 miles to a point where it is interrupted by rapids. The Orinoco is a mighty stream. Five hundred miles from the ocean it is four miles in width. Its basin is occupied by forests exceeding even those of the Amazon in gloomy magnificence. Trees of enormous size, creeping vines, aromatic odors, bright plumaged birds are beyond description. Hordes of monkeys chatter in the trees. Enormous serpents lie in wait for deer and peccaries. The waters are full of fish and alligators. Beyond the range of forests the basin is occupied by extensive grassy plains. The Orinoco is about 1,500 miles in length. Its basin has an area of 300,000 square miles. See Cassiquiari; Amazon; Venezuela