Guaire River

The Guaire River is a short river in Venezuela, one of the tributaries of the Tuy River and the main waterway of the Caracas Valley. Its length is 72 km. It is born at the confluence of the San Pedro and Macarao rivers, in a place called Las Adjuntas, and crosses the city of Caracas in a southeast direction.

Before the 20th century, the river was not polluted, and it was the source of water for all the inhabitants. At the end of the 19th century, during the government of President Antonio Guzmán Blanco, he provided Caracas with sewers and sewage, but ordered to use the Guaire River as the main drainage route for the city's wastewater.

Since the beginning of the XXI century, the Guaire River has been in an ecologically worrying situation, since it constitutes the main route wastewater drainage in the Venezuelan capital.

History

The history of the city of Caracas has been linked to the Guaire River and its basin, from colonial times there are various citations of activities related to the Guaire as well as its tributaries Caroata, Catuche and Anauco.

Towards the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the XIX a series of naturalists begin to arrive in Venezuela with the purpose of carrying out botanical and zoological collections, as well as natural history, astronomical, geological and geographical studies, thus making the first technical descriptions and scientific research on the Guaire River and its basin, among these pioneers it is worth highlighting the illustrious German naturalist Alejandro de Humboldt, who wrote notes and observations in his book Journey to the equinoctial regions of the new world throughout century XIX different travelers and naturalists commented in their books on data about the Guaire River and basin which range from aspects of daily life of the people of Caracas and their relationship with the river, to technical data on the characteristics of the river, such as the existence of a large cave whose origins date back to the late Jurassic and called the Consumidero.

Of these naturalists, travelers and explorers deserve mention. Miguel María Lisboa ambassador of Brazil and who captures his notes in his book “Relaçao de un viagem a Venezuela, Nova Granada e Ecuador” (1866); Pal Rosti, a Hungarian photographer who travels around the country, takes photographs and captures his observations in his book “Uti Enlékezetek Amerikábol”. (1861); British James Mudie Spence in his book “The land of Bolívar, or war pace and adventure in the Republic of Venezuela” (1871) publishes observations on the Guaire River and its basin; Anton Goering, German naturalist, publishes his notes in his book “Vom tropischen Tieflande zum ewigen Schnee”. (1892); Carl Sachs, a Prussian who, with Anton Goering, toured Caracas and made observations about El Guaire. Finally, there are the stories of the Frenchwoman Jenny de Tellenay in her book “Souvenirs de Venézuela”.

Electric energy of Caracas

On August 8, 1897, the Compañía Anónima Electricidad de Caracas, founded two years earlier in 1895 by engineer Ricardo Zuloaga, installed the first hydroelectric station known as Estación el Encantado, located east of El Hatillo (Miranda state) at the foot of the Peñón de las Guacas in the area known as the Guaire River Canyon, thus beginning the stage of electric lighting of the city of Caracas; Two important events became part of history, the first of which was that in this way Caracas became one of the few cities in the world that at that time had continuous electrical fluid produced by taking advantage of the current of water, the Second is that Caracas will be the first city in Latin America to receive electricity produced remotely.

El Encantado Station

The El Encantado Station consisted of four generating turbines of 240 – 260 horsepower each, Girard vertical axis system, and two of 20 and 40 horsepower Jonvald System. Two conduction lines started from these plants to a location in the vicinity of the Central Railway station where the transformers were located to begin distribution throughout the city.

Los Naranjos Station

As a result of the increase in demand for electricity, it was necessary to build a new generating station in the rural hamlet known as Los Naranjos (Municipality of El Hatillo). In the period between 1902 and 1908, the station units with the capacity to generate 1000 kilowatts were installed, which in 1911 will be replaced by generating units of 2000 kilowatts. Currently the place is quite deteriorated due to the abundant vegetation and the neglect of the competent authorities. It is important to highlight that from there you can see the mountain where the Cueva de los Zuloaga is located.

La Lira Station

This plant located at the site called La Lira station on the course of the Guaire River, began operating in 1911 with 2000 kilowatt generating units. It ceased its activities in 1957.

Sanitation project

In 2005, during the government of President Hugo Chávez, a plan for its sanitation was organized in front of several regional leaders, and on August 18 he promised that "Next year I invite you all and you, Daniel Ortega, “I invite us to bathe in the Guaire next year.” Jacqueline Faría, the environment minister at the time, was in charge of carrying out the project. In 2006, 772 billion bolivars were allocated for the work, and in 2007 Jacqueline Faría assured that although the cleaning of a river like the Guaire could take up to 15 years, the “revolutionary process” would deliver it clean in 2014. Until July 2016, the Inter-American Development Bank disbursed 83.6 million dollars to clean up the Guaire River, and in the same year the Permanent Commission of Administration and Services of the National Assembly, chaired by Congressman Stalin González, together with the Environment and Natural Resources Commission, they reported that 77 million dollars had been spent to clean up the river, when the project's execution was only 26%.

On April 19, 2017, during the Mother of All Marches in the 2017 protests in Venezuela, several opposition protesters had to cross the Guaire River to escape the tear gas bombs used by security forces; A Twitter user asked him about the destination of the dollars directed to the sanitation project, to which Faría responded "Complete investments were made but ask your people who had a tasty bath!". His response generated a large number of replies repudiating the statement. According to Juan Bautista González, professor at the Central University of Venezuela who coordinated the social component of the Guaire Catia River Sanitation Project to Quinta Crespo, 14 billion dollars had been invested in the recovery of the Guaire River, which according to him were #34;stolen. To date, the destination of the project investment is unknown.

Mining

Mining in the Guaire River is a practice that dates back to at least 1994, when journalist Anna Vaccarella in the program “Alerta” broadcast by Radio Caracas Television showed how some Venezuelans living on the streets were dedicated to this activity. However, during the crisis in Venezuela, the devaluation of wages and the stoppage of government construction works has forced more people to turn to mining, including people who do not live in poverty. As of 2016, dozens of people They began to search for metals daily in the sewers, and in the busiest point of the channel, Caño Amarillo, the presence of up to three hundred people has been reported. Miners spend minutes and even hours searching and digging in the water looking for items such as rings., chains, brooches, charms and jewelry made of precious metals such as gold, silver or copper. They generally do not use any protection, gloves or boots, and some even work without shirts or shoes, wearing only shorts, despite the diseases that can be contracted in the drain. Between 2017 and 2018, miners reported that they could earn between 100,000 and 500,000 bolivars in pieces daily, or up to 19 million bolivars per week, much more than the minimum wage in Venezuela or the salary of employees such as laborers, bricklayers or painters.

Christmas 2019

In December 2019, the government of Nicolás Maduro placed a large number of lights in the Guaire River to celebrate Christmas. Several Venezuelans expressed their discontent with this action in the face of electrical failures, light rationing and blackouts reported nationwide, also complaining about the sanitation project that had not been carried out to date.

Guaire River Basin

The hydrographic network of the city of Caracas is made up of the Guaire River basin, which is a sub-basin of the Tuy River, this being the main river in the north-central region of Venezuela, said Guaire basin passes through The valley where the city is located from West to East (Las Adjuntas – Petare) covers about 655 square kilometers, about 45 km long and about 15 km wide, and has a rectangular shape. The basin is formed by the Caracas Valley, which is relatively high, narrow and long, surrounded by the high and steep Coastal Mountains, which runs parallel to the central coast.

The Guaire River is born from the confluence of the Río San Pedro and Río Macarao rivers in the town of Las Adjuntas to the west of the city. 10°25′31″N 67°0′44″W / 10.42528, -67.01222 The first of these rivers must be considered as the Guaire in its further course upper, both because it is the longest and because its course corresponds to the continuation of the Guaire course. The Guaire River flows east of the Mirandina town of Santa Teresa del Tuy 10°14 ′11″N 66°38′43″W / 10.23639, -66.64528 about 65 km southeast of Caracas.

From the town of Las Adjuntas the current of the Guaire River becomes a current with little gradient and which is maintained throughout its movement from west to east throughout the city of Caracas to the town of Petare where it It diverts its course in a southeasterly direction, entering through a gorge originating in a fracture zone (the so-called Guaire River Canyon). Starting from Petare, it becomes a river with a rugged slope and over a rocky bed it flows to the town of Santa Lucía, Miranda where it once again enters an open and undulating region until its mouth into the Tuy River.

Throughout its route through the city of Caracas, its course has been channeled in order to avoid flooding when volume floods occur in the rainy season. Most of the water of the Guaire River comes from the rivers of the North slope, on the south slope only two rivers are important due to the volume of water they contribute to the total volume of the Guaire, those rivers are the Valley and the Baruta stream. In the area of El Encantado or canyon where its course is diverted and moves through a gorge originating in a fracture zone, the landscape is almost entirely formed by large abrupt rocks with characteristic karst topography, made up of Zenda Marble. Late Jurassic, caves, chasms and depressions are observed in the area; An example is the so-called Peñón de las Guacas or Los Carraos, to the east of the La Lagunita Country Club Urbanization, where the Guaire River forms a deep canyon and the Cueva Zuloaga and Cueva los Carraos are located nestled there (Mi.14)

Tributaries of the North slope sector of La Adjuntas - Petare

The water courses of the northern slope of the Guaire River are:

Río San Pedro: has its origin in an interior branch of the Coastal Mountain Range west of the community of San Pedro in the state of Miranda, in Pico El Arado, at an altitude of 2,050 meters, approximately 30 kilometers South West of Caracas, in the place where the river originates is called Soledad and this branch divides the waters of the San Pedro River and the Tuy River.

Macarao River: it originates from the union of the Cajón and Los Indios streams, which originate in the same branch of the San Pedro River and at a height of about 1600 m s. n. m. The basin of this river has been used since the last quarter of the XIX century as an aqueduct to supply water to the city of Caracas, which is currently protected under the national park regime.

Quebrada Caroata: currently this stream runs mostly trapped below the El Silencio urbanization and the central part of the city. It originates in the branch of the mountain range called Catia where it receives the waters of various streams such as: Agua Salada, Agua Salud and El Polvorín that are located above 1400 m s. n. m. The Caroata ravine originates at the confluence of the Topo Las Piñas at 1316 m s. n. m., from there it moves east until it ends in El Calvario where it heads south to empty into the Guaire in front of the El Paraíso urbanization.

Catuche River: it rises in the master line of the Coastal Mountain Range at the foot of Las Cuebrillas at an altitude of 1807 m s. n. m., among its tributaries on its western slope are the streams El Cedro, Las Mayas, enters the city through the Lares de Puerta de Caracas and after crossing part of the city it empties into the Guaire River in San Augustine of the North.

Río Anauco: has its origin in the master line of the Coastal Mountain Range in the vicinity of Boca de Tigre at a height of 1897 m s. n. m., among its tributaries we find the Guayabal, Bosúa, Caraballo streams, the Gamboa and Cotiza rivers. It flows into the Guaire at a level west of Los Caobos Park.

Quebrada Honda: it is formed in Sarría, having the San Lázaro stream as its main tributary and empties into the Guaire River after crossing Los Caobos Park on the sides of Plaza Venezuela.

Quebrada Maripérez: this stream gives its name to a neighborhood in the city of Caracas, in its upper part this stream is called Yerba Buena stream, it has its origin in the area of El Papelón in 1584 m s. n. m. and empties into the Guaire River in Plaza Venezuela.

Quebrada Los García: crosses west of the La Florida urbanization and empties into the Guaire in front of the mouth of the El Valle river in the area of Bello Monte.

Quebrada El Ávila: born west of El Papelón and receives the waters of the Quebrada el Cuño at the level of the El Ávila urbanization, to the east, coming from a height of 2159 m s. n. m. receives the waters of the Quebrada Chacaito on the sides of Sans-Soucí, to finally flow into the Guaire River near the entrance to the main avenue of the Las Mercedes urbanization, before the La Trinidad bridge.

Quebrada Chacaito is a small river that passes through the city of Caracas and originates on the borders of the El Ávila national park. It has its origin from the confluence of the Nieves and La Adjunta streams, both also located within the boundaries of the El Ávila national park. It mostly flows from north to south and empties into the El Ávila ravine. The course of said ravine is used as the western boundary of the Chacao Municipality of the Miranda state with respect to the Libertador Municipality of the Capital District (Venezuela).

Quebrada Agua de Maíz: has its origin on the borders of the El Ávila national park, after crossing the city of Caracas in its eastern or Mirandino sector, it flows into the Guaire River at the level of the La Floresta urbanization, after crossing underground the landing strip of the Generalísimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base. It should be noted that this ravine has a mouth prior to its mouth that adjoins the Francisco Fajardo highway and which in the last decade has caused severe flooding of this important road artery in the city of Caracas.

Quebrada Sebucán: is a small river that passes through the city of Caracas, born on the borders of the El Ávila national park in the Miranda state area. It mostly flows from north to south and empties into the Guaire River at the Santa Cecilia urbanization level, after underground crossing the runway of the Generalísimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base.

Río Tócome is the largest tributary of the Guaire due to its flow in the Caracas Valley, which runs through the eastern sector of the city of Caracas in the state of Miranda, on the borders of the El Ávila national park north of the Los Chorros urbanization. It mostly flows from north to south in its upper middle part, passes through Los Chorros Park and empties into the Guaire River in front of the Aerocav warehouses on Río de Janeiro Avenue.

Caurimare River: is a small body of water that originates on the borders of the El Ávila National Park, moves from North to South passing through Petare and flowing into the Guaire River in the El Llanito area.

Tributaries of the southern slope, La Adjuntas - Petare sector

The water courses of the southern slope of the Guaire River are:

Río El Valle: the main tributary of the Guaire River, coming from the southern slope of the Caracas valley, rises in the mountains south west of Caracas in the area of the Guayabo cut near the town of San Diego, a height of 1300 meters. This River generally runs from south to north for about 24 kilometers until its confluence with the Quebrada Turmerito, which is its main tributary, where it emerges from the mountains, continuing its course towards the Northeast for about 10 kilometers until its mouth in the River Guaire, a little further from the University City, before the mouth of the Quebrada Los García in Bello Monte. The river presents a slope variation that goes from 50 meters per kilometer at the headwaters to 6 meters per kilometer at the mouth. The drainage area of the Valle River basin covers 110 square kilometers.

Quebrada Baruta: it is the second watercourse in terms of volume of water discharged into the Guaire River on the southern slope of the basin, it originates northwest of the town of Baruta. In the past, this ravine was historically important in terms of alluvial gold mineral mining in the Caracas valley. Currently the bed of this ravine is almost entirely covered under the urbanizations in the southeastern area of the city., ends in the Las Mercedes urbanization about 50 meters from the Veracruz Bridge in front of the rear façade of the National Experimental University of the Armed Forces (UNEFA), the old Maraven building. The name of the stream derives from the indigenous voice of the Baruta, which in Spanish is Jabillo, the name of a tree.

Quebrada La Guairita: is a small watercourse that collects the waters of the streams in the area of Baruta, La Trinidad, El Hatillo and El Cafetal, where the site known as Ojo de Agua is born south of Baruta. The La Guairita stream area covers a total area of 2,300 hectares and is made up of the La Virgen, Sartenejas, La Encantada, Manzanares, La Boyera and Paují streams. They all flow into La Guairita, which in turn drains into the Guaire River.

Tributaries of the West slope Petare sector - Santa Lucía

The watercourses of the western slope of the Guaire River is the Suapire River, which is a small river coming from agricultural areas and the southern boundary of the Baruta Municipality and the El Hatillo Municipality.

Tributaries of this sector Petare - Santa Lucía

The water courses of the eastern slope of the Guaire River are: Quebrada La Lira, Quebrada Arenosa, Quebrada Pichao and Quebrada Siquire, all descending from the Mariche row and generally contributing a certain volume of water to the basin during the rainy season.

Guaire River basin reservoirs

With the purpose of supplying water to the city of Caracas, They have built two reservoirs to store the city's water, the La Mariposa Reservoir, on the El Valle River, with a tributary area of 46 square kilometers and a capacity of 8,700,000 cubic meters and located at an altitude of 981 m s. n. m. This dam began a feeding process in 1957 mainly by waters pumped from the Tuy I System from Río Tuy.

The second reservoir corresponds to the Macarao dam, which began its activity around 1874 during the government of Antonio Guzmán Blanco and over time it has been modified until it reaches the current dam. The dam had a capacity of 186,000 cubic meters up to the crest of the spillway, when it was built in 1948. At present, due to depletion of storage caused by sedimentation, the capacity has decreased to 90,000 cubic meters. Currently, its drainage area is 109 square kilometers and is fed through a basin transfer in a gravity conduit by waters from the Aguas Fría reservoir, on the Quebrada of the same name, located in the Tuy River Basin, about 14 kilometers east of the Macarao reservoir.

Fauna of the Guaire River basin

The natural fauna of the Guaire River basin, like the flora of its banks, is highly modified, non-existent due to alarming pollution, or very restricted in the highest and most isolated areas of the basin.

Knowledge of the aquatic fauna of the Guaire River basin is reported in several natural history works from the 50s and 60s of the century XX More recently, there is a work from 2005 related to crustaceans from the El Ávila National Park. In these works, the following fauna is reported:

Fish

• Astyanax fasciatus (Cuvier, 1819).
• Chaetostoma guairense Steindachner, 1882.
• Characidium carenatum Eigenmann 1909.
• Creagrutus beni Eigenmann, 1911.
• Crenicichla macrophthalma Heckel, 1840.
• Crenicichla wallacii Reagan, 1905.
• Poecilia reticulata (Peters, 1859).
• Poeciliopsis gracilis (Heckel, 1840).
• Rhamdia humilis (Günther, 1864).

• Rivulus bondi Schultz 1949.
• Trichomycterus mondolfi (Schultz, 1945).
• Symbranchus marmoratus Bloch, 1795.

Crustaceans

• Eudaniela ranchograndensis (Rodríguez 1966).
• Eudaniela iturbei (Rathbun, 1919).
• Eudaniela simoni (Rathbum, 1905).
• Microthelphusa racenisi (Rodríguez, 1966).
• Orthothelphusa venezuelensis (Rathbun, 1905).

Molluscs

• Aplexa rivalis (Matón & Rackett, 1807).
• Deroceras leave (Müller, 1774).
• Eudolichotis distorta (Bruguière, 1789).
• Eudolichotis auryomphala (Jonas, 1844).
• Leptinaria unilamelata (Potiez & Michaud, 1838).
• Lymnaea columellaris Say, 1817.
• Lymnaea cubensis Pfeifer, 1839.
• Marisa cornuarietis Linnaeus, 1858.
• Megalobulimus oblongus (Müller, 1774).
• Pachychilus laevisimus (Sowerby, 1824).
• Plekocheilus marmoratus (Dunker, 1844).
• Pomacea glauca Linnaeus, 1856.
• Poteria translucidum (Sowerby 1843).
• Taphius glabratus (Say, 1818).
• Vaginulus Occidentalis (Guilding, 1825).

Gallery

Rio Guaire and its basin