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River

Orinoco River

2,140 km from source to mouth · Venezuela and Colombia.

VenezuelaColombiaVenezuela and ColombiaFlows into Atlantic Ocean1st longest in Venezuela

Follow the riverMonth by month

SourceMouthCiudad Guayana
The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

2,140km

Average flow

30,000m³/s

Basin

989,000km²

Drop

680m

from 678 m to -2 m

Countries

2

The journey

From source to mouth

2,140 km of river and 50 stops on the way: 7 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

678 m-2 m
Sourceat 678 m0 km
Ocamo Rivertributary290 km
Cunucunuma Rivertributary422 km
Ventuari Rivertributary632 km
Raudal Hormiga762 km
Laguna Redonda0.4 km²1,221 km
Laguna El Rey0.7 km²1,252 km
Laguna Caño Largo0.3 km²1,492 km
Ciudad Bolívar567,953 people1,681 km
Ciudad Guayana751,331 people1,793 km
Atlantic Oceanat -2 m2,140 km
05001,0001,5002,140 km
  1. 0 kmSourceat 678 m
  2. 290 kmOcamo Rivertributary
  3. 422 kmCunucunuma Rivertributary
  4. 632 kmVentuari Rivertributary
  5. 712 kmSan Fernando de Atabapo11,929 people
  6. 714 kmAtabapo Rivertributary
  7. 716 kmGuaviare Rivertributary
  8. 762 kmRaudal Hormiga
  9. 828 kmVichada Rivertributary
  10. 843 kmSipapo Rivertributary
  11. 882 kmTomo Rivertributary
  12. 1,011 kmPuerto Carreño16,763 people
  13. 1,014 kmMeta Rivertributary
  14. 1,095 kmCinaruco Rivertributary
  15. 1,118 kmSuapure Rivertributary
  16. 1,137 kmCapanaparo Rivertributary
  17. 1,221 kmLaguna Redonda0.4 km²
  18. 1,239 kmArauca Rivertributary
  19. 1,252 kmLaguna El Rey0.7 km²
  20. 1,262 kmApure Rivertributary
  21. 1,287 kmCaicara del Orinoco67,277 people
  22. 1,289 kmLaguna Castillero2.4 km²
  23. 1,291 kmPuente Mercosur
  24. 1,292 kmLaguna La Teja0.5 km²
  25. 1,322 kmCuchivero Rivertributary
  26. 1,342 kmLaguna Guararipal0.9 km²
  27. 1,385 kmLaguna Hueso de Pescado0.7 km²
  28. 1,469 kmLaguna Soto0.4 km²
  29. 1,469 kmCaura Rivertributary
  30. 1,484 kmMapire5,326 people
  31. 1,492 kmLaguna Caño Largo0.3 km²
  32. 1,495 kmLaguna Santa Crucera0.8 km²
  33. 1,566 kmLaguna La Virgen1.8 km²
  34. 1,570 kmLaguna Las Ánimas0.4 km²
  35. 1,572 kmLaguna Las Animas1.1 km²
  36. 1,604 kmAro Rivertributary
  37. 1,633 kmLaguna Los Médanos0.6 km²
  38. 1,656 kmLaguna Maldonado1.5 km²
  39. 1,676 kmAngostura Bridge
  40. 1,680 kmSoledad29,763 people
  41. 1,681 kmCiudad Bolívar567,953 people
  42. 1,698 kmLaguna La Piña2.1 km²
  43. 1,733 kmLaguna Los Totumitos0.8 km²
  44. 1,767 kmSecond Orinoco crossing
  45. 1,781 kmLaguna Pedregal1.8 km²
  46. 1,792 kmCaroní Rivertributary
  47. 1,793 kmCiudad Guayana751,331 people
  48. 1,801 kmLaguna Bombeadero0.9 km²
  49. 1,821 kmLaguna El Gallo0.4 km²
  50. 1,850 kmLaguna La Palambra0.3 km²
  51. 1,853 kmLaguna Matajey0.4 km²
  52. 2,140 kmAtlantic Oceanat -2 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

River in South America

At the mouth it carries 30,000 m³/s on average: 12 Olympic pools every second. It drops from 678 m to -2 m, 0.3 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 989,000 km², about the size of EG. 12.1 million people live in it. Highest water: from July to September; lowest: from January to April. Dams and reservoirs hold back a large share of its water (13% of a year's flow).

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • Ciudad GuayanaLargest city on its banks · 751,331 people
  • General Manuel Carlos Piar International Airport (PZO)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 9 km from the cityCar hire at POS airport (Port of Spain)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • On the water24 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • From December to FebruaryThe best months to visit

Orinoco River, month by month

Highest water: from July to September

Lowest water: from January to April. Best months to visit: from December to February.

18,500
27°54 mmJan
12,000
28°51 mmFeb
9,000
28°68 mmMar
13,800
28°136 mmApr
29,300
28°234 mmMay
51,500
27°300 mmJun
70,000
26°293 mmJul
78,500
27°258 mmAug
72,200
27°187 mmSep
57,500
28°151 mmOct
42,200
28°118 mmNov
28,300
27°83 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 9,000 m³/s in the lowest month to 78,500 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.

Plan the trip

Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car

Car hire at POS airport (Port of Spain)Discover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

Orinoco River: the basin in numbers

938,384 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

Heavily regulatedReservoirs can hold 13% of a year's flow: dams shape its seasons.
  • 12.1millionpeople live in the basin
  • 13/km²people per km²
  • 370maverage altitude of the basin
  • 2,303mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 25.7°Caverage air temperature
  • 40%protected areas
  • 0.6%covered by lakes
  • 151km³held in reservoirs

What covers the basin

  • 48% Forest
  • 3% Cropland
  • 25% Pasture

RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.

Along the river

Orinoco River: what you find on the way

  • 1Waterfalls
  • 2Boat rampsEmbarcadero
  • 16Ferry piersChalana a Puerto Páez, Chalana a El Burro, Muelle de Cabruta and 13 more
  • 6MarinasComando fluvial, Club Nautico Orinoco, Puerto de Los Frailes and 3 more
  • 10River beachesIsla De Zama, Isla Priarama, Isla Patos and 7 more

From OpenStreetMap, within 3.0 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Orinoco River in our other atlases

What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.

  • 1waterfall on the riverCascadyas
  • 21lakes on its wayLakeyas

Waterfalls (1)

On the river, by Cascadyas

  1. Raudal Hormigakm 708

Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗

Lakes and reservoirs (21)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Laguna Castillerokm 1,1972.4km²
  2. Laguna Guararipalkm 1,2470.9km²
  3. Laguna La Virgenkm 1,4551.8km²
  4. Laguna Las Animaskm 1,4601.1km²
  5. Laguna Maldonadokm 1,5381.5km²
  6. Laguna La Piñakm 1,5782.1km²
  7. Laguna Pedregalkm 1,6541.8km²
  8. Laguna Bombeaderokm 1,6730.9km²

13 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

Orinoco River: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
Orinoco River: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth132 km across

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.

Photos

Orinoco River in pictures

Vista RioCaroni DesdeOrinoco
Dilankf · CC BY-SA 4.0
Orinoco-Landschaft
Anagoria · CC BY 3.0
Navegando el Orinoco
Cdrg82 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Orinoco y su estacion
Jermaingarciafg · CC BY-SA 3.0

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

Tributaries (25)

Apure RiverVenezuelaVenezuela1,580 km2,600 m³/sjoins at km 1,173Guaviare RiverColombiaColombia1,497 km8,200 m³/sjoins at km 665Meta RiverColombiaColombia1,000 km6,500 m³/sjoins at km 942Arauca RiverVenezuelaVenezuela900 km800 m³/sjoins at km 1,151Caroní RiverVenezuelaVenezuela765 km4,800 m³/sjoins at km 1,665Caura RiverVenezuelaVenezuela745 km3,500 m³/sjoins at km 1,365Ventuari RiverVenezuelaVenezuela520 km2,200 m³/sjoins at km 587

Also: Atabapo River, Capanaparo River, Vichada River, Tomo River, Cinaruco River, Sipapo River, Aro River, Ocamo River, Cuchivero River, Cunucunuma River, Parguaza River, Mavaca River, Suapure River, Manaviche River, Padamo River, Río Iguapo, Río Padamo, Río Ugueto

Nearby

Rivers nearby

Caroní RiverVenezuelaVenezuela765 km4,800 m³/s192 km awayOrtoire RiverTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago42 km11 m³/s194 km awayCaroni RiverTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago40 km17 m³/s234 km awayEssequibo RiverGuyanaGuyana1,014 km2,100 m³/s354 km awayCuyuni RiverGuyanaGuyana618 km2,100 m³/s354 km awayDemerara RiverGuyanaGuyana350 km290 m³/s367 km awayCaura RiverVenezuelaVenezuela745 km3,500 m³/s434 km awayBerbice RiverGuyanaGuyana595 km370 m³/s460 km away

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q131792) · CC0
Course, profile, basinRiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata
FlowWaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the riverWorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, damsWikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlasesCascadyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every source and licence is on the data sources page.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit