Los Llanos (Spanish pronunciation: [loz ˈʝanos], "The Plains") is a vast tropical grassland
plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South
America.
It is an ecoregion of the flooded grasslands and savannas biome.
The Llanos' main river is the Orinoco, which forms part of the border between Colombia
and Venezuela and is the major river system of Venezuela.
== Ecology == During the rainy season from May to October,
parts of the Llanos can flood up to a meter.
This turns the woodlands and grassland into a temporary wetland, comparable to the Pantanal
of central South America.
This flooding also makes the area unique for its wildlife.
The area supports around 70 species of water birds, including the scarlet ibis.
A large portion of the distribution of the white-bearded flycatcher is in the Llanos.
The flooding also made the area unfit for most agriculture before the advent of modern,
industrial farming technology.
Therefore, during the Spanish colonial era, the primary economic activity of the area
was the herding of millions of heads of cattle.
An 1856 watercolor by Manuel María Paz depicts sparsely populated open grazing lands with
cattle and palm trees.
The term llanero ("plainsman") became synonymous with the cowhands that took care of the herds,
and had some cultural similarities with the gauchos of the Pampas or the vaqueros of Spanish
and Mexican Texas.
== The rivers and marshes of Los Llanos, Venezuela.
== In the wet season most of the Llanos is flooded
and travel is by boat down the numerous temporary and permanent waterways.
== Oil and gas == In Los Llanos the governments of Venezuela
and Colombia had developed a strong oil and gas industry in zones of Arauca, Casanare,
Guárico, Anzoátegui, Apure and Monagas.
The Orinoco Belt, entirely in Venezuelan territory, consists of large deposits of extra heavy
crude (oil sands).
The Orinoco belt oil sands are known to be one of the largest, behind that of the Athabasca
Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada.
Venezuela's non-conventional oil deposits of about 1,200 billion barrels (1.9×1011
m3), found primarily in the Orinoco oil sands, are estimated to approximately equal the world's
reserves of conventional oil.
== Cities situated in the Llanos ==
=== In Colombia === Acacias, Meta
Arauca, Arauca Gaviotas
Mani, Casanare Orocue
Paz de Ariporo Puerto Carreño
Puerto Inirida Puerto López, Meta
San José del Guaviare Saravena
Tame Villavicencio
Yopal
=== In Venezuela === Acarigua
Araure Barinas
Calabozo Caripito
El Tigre Guanare
Maturín Puerto Ayacucho
Sabaneta San Carlos
San Fernando de Apure Tucupita
Valle de la Pascua
== See also == History of Colombia
History of Venezuela Index: Ecoregions of South America
== References ==
== External links == (in English) Dawn on the Plains Photo Feature,
Havana Times, Oct 1, 2010.
(in Spanish) The llanos music (in Spanish) The llanos of Colombia and Venezuela
(in Spanish) Los Llanos de Colombia (in English) "Llanos".
Terrestrial Ecoregions.
World Wildlife Fund.