Caño Cristales: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|River in Colombia}}

{{refimprovemore citations needed|date=March 2017}}

| pushpin_map = Colombia

'''''Caño Cristales''''' ({{IPA-es|ˈkaɲo kɾisˈtales}}; {{lang-en|"Crystal Channel"}}) is a [[Colombia]]nColombian river located in the [[SerraniaSerranía de la Macarena]], provincean ofisolated mountain range in the [[Meta Department|Meta]],. andIt is a tributary of the [[Guayabero River]], itself a part of the [[Orinoco|Orinoco basin]]. Caño Cristales was found in 1969 by a group of cattle farmers. The river is commonly called the "River of Five Colors" or the "Liquid Rainbow," and is noted for its striking colors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20140903-colombias-liquid-rainbow|title=Colombia's 'Liquid Rainbow'|last=Catchpole|first=Karen|access-date=2018-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cano-cristales|title=Caño Cristales|website=Atlas Obscura|language=en|access-date=2018-01-14}}</ref> The bed of the river from the end of July through November is variously colored yellow, green, blue, black, and especially red, the last caused by ''Macarenia[[Rhyncholacis]] clavigera'' plants (family [[Podostemaceaesyn.]] ''Macarenia clavigera'') plants on the riverbed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.canocristales.co/macarenia-clavigera-foto-subacuatica/|title=Macarenia Clavigera: la planta acuática de Caño Cristales|date=2015-01-11|work=Caño Cristales|access-date=2018-01-14|language=es-ES}}</ref> In recent years, the river has become a tourist destination; there were more than 16,000 visitors in 2016.<ref name=MI2017/>

The [[quartzite]] rocks of the Serrania de la Macarena tableland formed approximately 1.2 billion years ago. They are a western extension of the [[Guiana Shield of Venezuela]].

[[File:Clavigera Macarena.JPG|thumb|left|''Macarenia[[Rhyncholacis]] clavigera'' is best known for its red color, but it can also be green or yellowish]]

The Serranía de la Macarena is located on the border of three large ecosystems[[ecosystem]]s, each of them with high diversity of flora and fauna: the [[Andes]], the Eastern [[Llanos]], and the [[Amazon rainforest. Plant and animal life are struggling with the lack of nutrients on the solid rock surface of the tableland and have developed diverse adaptations]]. The representative biome of the Serranía[[Serrania de Lala Macarena]] is the hydrophytic rainforest: hot, warm, and cold. The tableland is home to about 420 species of birds, 10 species of amphibians, 43 species of reptiles, and eight primates. Caño Cristales is home to several species of [[fish]] (despite sometimes claimed to contain no fish), freshwater [[turtles]] and other aquatic animals.<ref name=MI2017>{{cite web| last=Mikolji | first=I. | title=Caño Cristales | url=https://www.mikolji.com/cano-cristales/ | website=mikolji.com | access-date=28 May 2023 }}</ref><ref name=AvHumboldt2017>{{cite journal| editor1=Lasso, C.A. | editor2=Morales-Betancourt, M.A. | year=2017 | title=Fauna de Caño Cristales, sierra de La Macarena, Meta, Colombia | url=http://repository.humboldt.org.co/bitstream/handle/20.500.11761/32939/558.pdf | journal=Serie Editorial Fauna Silvestre Neotropical. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt | pages=47-65 }}</ref>

Caño Cristales river has a wide variety of aquatic plants. The water of the river is extremely clear due to the lack of nutrients and small particles. Almost unique is the bright red - pink coloration of the riverbed after the rainy period infrom the end of June -till November. This color is caused by great quantities of endemic plant species ''Macarenia[[Rhyncholacis]] clavígera'' (often known by its former name, ''Macarenia clavigera''). This plant is only found in someCaño moreCristales localand a few others rivers in the region, such as the Caño Siete Machos. These red plants, which are green when young, then turn yellowish and finally various shade of red, adhere tightly to rocks in places where the river has faster current.<ref name=AvHumboldt2017/><ref>{{cite web| last=Bonilla Morales | first=M.M. | date=7 August 2021 | title=Caño Cristales: el misterio de una flor que envejece | url=https://www.oscarpabon.com/index.php/2021/08/07/cano-cristales-el-misterio-de-una-flor-que-envejece/ | website=oscarpabon.com | access-date=28 May 2023 }}</ref>