Subject: [Geography] The Sipaliwini Savanna
Article:

The Sipaliwini savanna is located in the southern part of Suriname along the headwaters of the Sipaliwini river, a tribituary of the Coeroeni river. It is marked by 2 degrees 10 minutes NL and 56 degrees 08 minutes WL in the north and west, while it borders on Brazil in the south and east. An air strip is located west of the savanna and north of the Sipaliwini river. It takes about 2 hrs flying in a small one engine plane from Paramaribo. The Sipaliwini river is only navigable down stream during the rainy seasons. It is only navigable up river during the rainy seasons and the water level is very high. The savanna itself is mostly grassland with clusters of the Mauritia palm trees. The tropical rain forests surrounds the savanna. The boundaries betwen savanna and rain forest are kept by setting the grassland on fire (mostly by men). The savanna is almost uninhibited except for small groups of nomadic Amerindians. Bird life is abundant and the 'twa twa' singing bird has its habitat in this area. The savanna is designated a wildlife reserve. From 1962 to 1964 and again in 1972 geological surveys were conducted by the Geological and Mining Service to examine the geolocial rocks and to map the area. The Sipaliwini is part of the precambrian Guiana shield and consists predominantly of volcanic and granitoid rocks. Most of the area remains uncovered and the geological maps are still an approximation of the geology of the area. One scenic land mark is the "Vier Gebroeders mountain' located near the Brazilian border. -------


Met dank aan Albert Buys