top 47 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 91 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (6 children)

I have seen this perspective in every picture of this place. however I have never seen a single picture or description of what's actually up there. I guess I need to go proactively find out... to Wikipedia!

I'm back!

Due to the late exploration of this part of South America and the discovery of new species every year, the flora and fauna here are largely unknown.[9] The currently identified species are strongly endemic, especially the fauna, which also puts them at a high risk of extinction.[12]

The vegetation on the plateau is still largely unknown and consists mainly of bare rocks, forests of trees and epiphytes, and wet and dry savannas in the form of swamps.[9] It is marked by numerous endemic species, especially carnivorous plants that capture insects, living in sandstone and leaching soils which lack the nitrates necessary for their development.[21][14][12] There are fewer species in the vicinity of streams and ravines, and the trees are 8–15 m (26–49 ft) tall and have hard leaves that can adapt to harsh environmental conditions.[9] The exposed rocks are occupied by lichens, algae and cyanobacteria.[16]

altr

  • source
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 24 points 2 months ago

    Thank you! I thought I was going to have to look it up myself.

    Was not expecting a swamp up there lol. That caught me off guard.

    Forests: okay. bare rocks: expected. A swamp? Was not picturing that lol

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 6 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    How do the scientists get to the top of this mountain?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 10 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

    Mount Roraima and Mount Aoyan are the only flat-topped mountains in the Canaima National Park that can be climbed by hikers, with a monthly quota of 200 people.[9][16] Its ascent takes three to five days in total,[7][14] the summit route is on a natural slope on the southwestern cliffs of Mount Roraima,[13][15][21] it does not require any special equipment or training, so it is chosen by almost all hikers,[15][21] the only difficulty is that some streams and small waterfalls may become difficult to pass under heavy rain.[14][21]

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 61 points 2 months ago (8 children)

    Every few years I am reminded that it exists, and become briefly obsessed. I want to write an entire fictional setting based on Roraima's geological and ecological oddity

  • source
  • hideshow 8 child comments
  • [–] 6 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Pixar beat you to it

    Though I guess the waterfall is based on Angel Falls in Venezuela

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

    I was going to go more conceptual with it, the idea of a physically inaccessible place as an otherworld, probably have it be a place supernatural creatures visit and do like an Enemy Mine thing

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Was this the place where that young adult apocalypse book was based on? I think it was called the giver or something.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Never heard of it, but I can't find anything that connects it to Roraima.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 32 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    The Venezuelan tepuis are one of the most fascinating places on earth! I discovered them from a National Geographic story when I was a kid. The world’s tallest waterfall tumbles off one of these mesas. It’s too bad my country (US) has ruined any chance for me to ever safely visit them in person.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 26 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    If you look real close at the left side of the plateau you can see an old man, a kid and a dog.

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Is this a reference I'm too ignorant to get?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 23 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Forbidden overcooked steak

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 15 points 2 months ago

    To be clear, the rocks that the mountain is made of are reasonably old (oldest on Earth is closer to 4.0 billion years, but anything >500 million is fairly rare), but the landform of a mountain is a combination of uplift and erosion, which is fairly young. The only source for the age of erosion I could find (didn't search hard) mentioned the glaciation of the Pleistocene, which seems reasonable.

  • source
  • [–] 28 points 2 months ago

    This is the kind of location I look for when building a house in Minecraft.

  • source
  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    That waterfall on the far left - was this the inspiration for Up?

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago

    Link missing?

  • source
  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago*
    [–] 5 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    I think I read a fiction book about something ver similar as a kid. Almost sure it was from Arthur Conan Doyle

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago

    I had no idea about any of this, now I’m fascinated!

  • source
  • [–] 6 points 2 months ago

    more interesting fact, this borders three countries: Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    I feel like a guy named "steve" was there

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    Season 3 of the show Out of the Wild takes place here. Beautiful scenary and if you like that type of show I highly recommend you watch it. Season 1 was solid too.

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    Could it be an alien craft landing pad? Ancient astronaut theorists, say yes.

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    It looks like somebody just dropped a paving stone in dry ice.

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    There are dinosaurs up there.

  • source
  • [–] -2 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Isn't the entire Earth over 2 billion years old? Seems disingenuous to say that one mountain is that old when in reality the entire Earth is that old.

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments