Select any natural feature in Guyana.

Assess the relevance of the

feature to the economic development of the country and show
whether or not exploitation of the feature has negative effects on the
physical environment.

Kaieteur National Park is located in the heart of the Guiana shield, in the Pakaraima Mountain
region; it was established as a protected area in 1929 by the British Commonwealth. The park
occupies a prominent position in the centre of the Guyana Shield. The Guiana Shield is
approximately 2 billion years old and is the earth’s oldest and remotest geological surface. The
park covers 75,000 square kilometres (30,000 square miles) and is bounded roughly by the
Amazon River to the South and the Japur- Caqueta River to the southwest and the Sierra de
Chiribiquete Mountains in the west, the Orinoco river to the northwest and Guaviare Rivers the
north, with the Atlantic to the East.

In addition, Kaieteur National Park is composed of distinctive plateaus or table top mountains,
called tepuis. These are the remnants of the sandstone sediments that covered the metamorphic
rocks of the area, and were created by erosion approximately 200 million years ago. The park
contains steep sloped escarpments; it is also noted for its many rivers and waterfalls which drop
off the edges of the escarpment.

Kaieteur Falls is located on the Potaro River possessing the typical characteristics of the Guiana
shield that includes; its biological, cultural and natural diversity. This magnificent wonder is the
centrepiece of the Park which proudly boasts being one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the
world. The falls is located where the Roraima formation gives way to the lowlands and drops
226 m (741 ft.) to splash to a basin below; thereafter traveling some 32 km through a deep gorge
before leaving the escarpment behind. It is by no means the highest waterfall in the world; it is
actually higher than some waterfalls like Niagara Falls.

In 1924, while looking for diamonds (with some success!) there was discovered a new mineral in
canyon below the falls -Potarite. This is extremely rare and unusual mineral - natural alloy of
two metals - mercurium and palladium (PdHg). Potarite is unsightly - small, heavy brittle grains,
consisting of metallic, opaque silver coloured mass. Later this mineral was found in some more
locations around the world.

Name: Gwenetta Fordyce Page 1

 Select any natural feature in Guyana. Assess the relevance of the
feature to the economic development of the country and show
whether or not exploitation of the feature has negative effects on the
physical environment.

Many Caribbean nations offer sand and blue seas as tourist attraction, Kaieteur Falls is certainly
the top ornament of Guyana’s inland and is the main tourist attraction in Guyana. Kaieteur
receives approximately 40,000 visitors annually mostly from Europe and North America and
some 200 people per month, many of whom love the pristine rainforest that surround the falls.
The Falls have become a major draw for eco-tourism in Guyana contributing approximately 3%
to the GDP (Statistical Bureau, 2003).
The current growth rate of the sector is projected at 5% per annum. According to the National
Bureau of Statistics, in 2002 visitor’s arrival was 104,341 up 5% from the previous year. Also,
investment as a percentage of the total has been increasing in the sector. In 2002, 10% of all
foreign investment projects were in the tourism sector, with 9% of all new jobs created being in
this sector (Go-Invest, 2003).
The establishment of the National Park in preserving the waterfall promotes development of the
rural economy; providing jobs in the form of tour operators, forest rangers and managers of the
area surrounding the falls. The nearby community has about 500 inhabitants, and over half of the
workers at Kaieteur are from the community. Due to many tourists visiting the Falls, there are
direct market opportunities for the community business men to sell their craft products and
where guest can purchase Amerindian crafts as souvenir or gifts, this improves the economic
level of community members.
The Kaieteur Falls in conjunction with Kaieteur National Park is one of Guyana’s finest eco-
tourist destinations. It coexists with its interior setting with little disturbance to the physical
environment.
The activities surrounding Kaieteur Falls include; hiking, swimming, canoeing, bird watching,
all of which is unobtrusive and provides learning experiences to the tourist.
Kaieteur might be the most recognizable landmark of Guyana. The Park promotes activities that
result in minimum degradation/impact by using all possible mediums to a guarantee such.

Kaieteur activities entirely are well thought-out to be non-invasive to the physical environment
and to yield low environmental impacts. However, it should be noted that the carrying capacity
of the area is seldom exceeded. Nevertheless, it adheres to EPA regulations likewise the

Name: Gwenetta Fordyce Page 2

 Select any natural feature in Guyana. Assess the relevance of the
feature to the economic development of the country and show
whether or not exploitation of the feature has negative effects on the
physical environment.

community’s agreement; illegal removal of flora and fauna from the environs by guest is not
tolerated. Tours more often than not, have duration of one to two hours (though some guests
visits for as long as two to four nights).

The Kaieteur Park developed eco-lodges to encourage more overnight visitors. It is located next
an open area near a stream, this have limited interruption of vegetation in the immediate area of
the falls. Walking to the falls would take approximately under 10 minutes. Happily since the
time of discovery the surroundings of this waterfall have not changed. Kaieteur is located in the
middle of true wilderness, without roads and luxury hotels. The high cliff has no guarding rails;
the waterfall can be reached by feet or by airplane.

Without a doubt Kaieteur can be considered one of the most impressive waterfalls on Earth. The
fall has all what an extraordinary fall needs - immense height, width, free fall of big amounts of
water and beautiful scenery surrounding it. A big part of the impression is created by the fact that
the physical environment of this beautiful monument of nature have not been commercialised.

Name: Gwenetta Fordyce Page 3

 Select any natural feature in Guyana. Assess the relevance of the
feature to the economic development of the country and show
whether or not exploitation of the feature has negative effects on the
physical environment.

References

Bureau of Statistics (2003), Sector Analysis: Tourism and Hospitality, Guyana, viewed 20th,
2014 from World Wide Web: http://www.statisticsguyana.gov.gy/

Brown, C. C. (1871), Report on the Kaieteur Waterfall in British Guiana. Journal of the
Geographical Society of London, Vol.41,

GOG (2001), National Development Strategy for Guyana 2001 2010; Chapter 37 – Tourism
Policies; Retrieved on April 20th, 2014 from the World Wide Web: http://www.sdnp.org.gy/NDS

Hamilton, C. (1999), Integrated National Tourism Development and Management Plan for
Guyana – Final Report, Georgetown

Hudson, B. (1998) Waterfalls: resources for tourism. Analysis of Tourism Research, 25(4). pp.
958-973

Kaieteur National Park, viewed on April 21st, 2014 from World Wide Web
www.kaieteurpark.gov.gy/

Ministry of Trade and Tourism, (1998), The Development of Tourism in Guyana, 1986-1997,
Georgetown

Name: Gwenetta Fordyce Page 4