description Sarisariñama Tepui Overview
Sarisariñama Tepui is a flat-topped mountain in Bolívar State, Venezuela, near the border with Brazil. Its quartz-sandstone summit contains several exceptionally large collapse sinkholes, known locally as simas, including Sima Mayor and Sima Menor. These depressions are associated with underground caves and drainage systems formed through chemical weathering, erosion, and collapse in the sandstone plateau.
help Sarisariñama Tepui FAQ
Where is Sarisariñama Tepui located?
Sarisariñama Tepui is a flat-topped quartz-sandstone mountain in Bolívar State, Venezuela, near the Brazilian border. It lies in the remote Guayana Highlands and is known for deep collapse sinkholes on its forested summit. ([Smithsonian Contributions](https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/6982/scb-0056.pdf))
What are Sima Mayor and Sima Menor on Sarisariñama?
Sima Mayor is also called Sima Humboldt, while Sima Menor is also called Sima Martel. Published exploration figures put Sima Humboldt at about 314 metres deep and Sima Martel at about 248 metres deep. ([Boegan exploration history](https://www.boegan.it/1993/01/storia-delle-esplorazioni/))
When were Sarisariñama's giant sinkholes explored?
The sinkholes were first seen from the air in the early 1960s, and a major expedition led by Charles Brewer-Carías explored them in 1974. A Polish-Venezuelan expedition returned in 1976 to measure the deep shafts more thoroughly. ([Boegan exploration history](https://www.boegan.it/1993/01/storia-delle-esplorazioni/))
Why are the Sarisariñama sinkholes scientifically unusual?
They formed in quartz sandstone rather than the limestone that produces many famous caves, and some have isolated forest growing at the bottom. Those enclosed ecosystems can preserve plants and animals that are separated from the surrounding tepui summit. ([Smithsonian Contributions](https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/6982/scb-0056.pdf))
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