THE UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA

FACULTY OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IN GUYANA

Group Members:

Name: USI#:
Kurt Booker 1015470
Pretima Lall 1035087
Tara Ganesh 1033493
Cindy Persaud 1034425
Kayseri Persaud 1034536
Khemraj Persaud 1034525
Gamaliel McGarrell 1034075
Towanna Thomas 1034554
Dominic Alleyne 1034918

Lecturer: Dr. Temitope D. Timothy Oyedotun

Date: 24th April, 2020
Title of Project:

 Drainage Systems in Guyana

Intent of Project:

 To critically study the geomorphology of various areas in Guyana

 To identify erosional and anthropogenic processes associated with different drainage patterns.

Location of Study:
Guyana is located on the northeastern corner of South America. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic
Ocean to the North, Brazil to the South and Southwest, Venezuela to the West, and Suriname to the East.
With an area of 215,000 square km (83,000 sq. mi), Guyana is the third smallest sovereign state on
mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname.

The region known as ‘The Guianas’ consists of the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and
east of the Orinoco River known as the ‘land of many waters. Major rivers in Guyana include
the Essequibo, the Berbice, and the Demerara.
Georgetown the capital of Guyana is located on the Atlantic coast on the East Bank of the Demerara
River Estuary. The terrain in this part of the country where the city is located is flat coastal plains. The
city is surrounded by a blanket of cane fields along with marshy swamps, and savannah lands on its east
and south. The elevation of the land is one metre below the high tide level while the low elevation is
protected by a retaining wall known as the seawall to keep the ocean out and an innovative network of
canals with kokers to drain the city of excess water.

Guyana has 10 administrative regions with 4 natural regions. Since the country gained its independence in
1966, the country’s chief economic assets have been its natural resources, mainly its pristine rainforests,
sugarcane plantations, rice fields, and bauxite, gold reserves and recently discovered Petroleum. Despite
those riches, Guyana remains one of the poorest countries in South America. Some geographers classify
Guyana as a part of the Caribbean region, which they deem to include the West Indies as well as
Guyana, Belize, Suriname, and French Guiana on the South American mainland.

Guyana’s four main rivers are;

1. Corentyne River
2. Berbice River
3. Demerara River
4. Essequibo River

All flow these rivers flow from the south and empty into the Atlantic along the eastern section of the
coast. Among the tributaries of the Essequibo, the Potaro, the Mazaruni, and the Cuyuni drain the
northwest, and the Rupununi drains the southern savanna. The coast is cut by shorter rivers, including
Pomeroon, Mahaica, Mahaicony, and Abary.

The rivers are part of the watershed of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, and the headwaters of the
Rupununi in Brazil are often confused with those of the Amazon. Drainage is poor because the average
gradient is only about 1 foot per mile (19 centimeters per km), and there are swamps and flooding in the
mountains and savannas. The rivers are not suitable for long-distance transportation because they are
broken by interior falls, and in the coastal zone their mouths and estuaries are blocked by mud and by
sandbars that may occur 2 to 3 miles (about 4 km) out to sea.

Materials:
 Maps
 Pictures
 Animation

Methodology
Distinctive methods were used to study the flow of drainage sequences/pattern and landforms. Being very
reliant on maps and more or less satellite images, the following was completed;
1. Information gathered from maps, charts and other statistical data was analyzed
2. The necessary interpretations and analyses were completed directly from a computer screen.
3. Data on location and other pertinent information with respect to the topography, land formation
and drainage patterns were observed from Maps of Guyana and Google Earth.
 4. The consideration to use the GIS software allowed georeferenced data for comparison, integration
and querying. This app provided logical observations which led to a well validated interpretation
and assumptions.
5. Previous GIS database created this purpose was used to compare before and after views for
adequate referencing, interpretations and justifications of assumptions.

Drainage Pattern Significance

Generally, drainage systems that develops is entirely dependent on slopes, nature and attitude of
bedrocks, also on both local and regional broken patterns. Drainages are easily visible on different remote
imagery and therefore reflects the structure and the general physical characteristics of rocks in a given
area, which can also be a great value of groundwater resources assessments.

Drainage systems and patterns are studied according to their type and texture with respect to its density of
dissection. Its first parameter is associated to the nature and structure of the substratum, the second is
related to rock and or soil permeability and thus, also to rock type. More precisely, the less a rock is
permeable, the less the infiltration of rainfall, which conversely tends to be concentrated in surface runoff.
This gives origin to a well-developed and fine drainage system. On the other hand, in karst regions, where
the underground circulation of water is much more developed than the surficial one, drainage is less
developed or missing altogether.

There are essentially five (5) basic type of drainage patters, these include;
1. Dendritic
2. Trellis
3. Radial
4. Parallel
5. Rectangular
6. Angular

The features for these are identified below:

 The Dendritic Pattern, is a tree-like branching of tributaries join the mainstream at acute angles.
Usually this pattern occurs in homogeneous rocks such as soft sedimentary or volcanic tuffs.

(David, 2016)
  The Trellis Drainage Pattern is a modification of dendritic, with parallel tributaries converging
at right angles. It is indicative of bedrock structure rather than material of bedrock. It can be
associated to tilted or interbedded sedimentary rocks, where the main channels follow the strike
of beds.

(Porter, 2016)

 TheParallel Drainage Pattern major tributaries are parallel to major streams and join them at
approximately the same angle. It can occur in homogeneous, gentle and uniformly sloping
surfaces whose main streams may indicate a fault or fracture zone. Common in pediment zones.

(Sheer, 2000)
 The Radial Drainage Pattern is a circular network of approximately parallel channels flowing
away from a central high point. It usually occurs in volcanoes or domelike structures
characterized by resistant bedrock.

(Dover, 1990)

 The Annular Drainage Pattern is a concentric network of channels flowing down and around a
central high point. This pattern is usually controlled by layered, jointed and fractured bedrock, in
granitic or sedimentary domes.

(Dover, 2017)

 The Rectangular Drainage Pattern is a modification of the dendritic pattern, with tributaries
joining mainstream at right angles, forming rectangular shapes. It is controlled by bedrock
jointing, foliation and fracturing, indicative of slate, schist, gneiss and resistant sandstone.
 (Dover, 2017)

These basic representations gave rise to more than 20 other generic patterns which covers almost all
possible existing. Further modifications of the six basic schemes give origin to more than 20 other
patterns that cover almost all the possible existing illustrations. Perhaps, drainage can also be
characterized and describe based on texture and density of its breakdown. Some of these includes;

 Fine – This indicates high level run off to suggests impermeable bedrocks and very fine textured
soils.
 Medium – Medium texture indicates a medium run-off with mixed general physical
characteristics of rocks
 Coarse – To suggests little run-off and resistant permeable bedrocks and coarse permeable soil
materials.

Drainage Patterns found in Guyana

1. Dendritic Drainage Pattern:
In Guyana, the dendritic drainage patterns are most common. This type of drainage tree like in
appearance have several tributaries converging with it. It I noted that these are develop mostly in
the country’s inland regions where the main rivers and its tributaries o are extended on a land
surfaces with gently sloping basins and underlying rock type resistant to erosion.
Evidently, this pattern resembles the veins of a leaf developed on uniform bedrock like sandstone
or shale. Not surprising is Guyana also has a combination of various rock type including both
hard and soft rocks which are found beneath stream that having no particular structure and is
eroded easily in all directions. E.g. of these rock type would include; … All of which are not
folded
 Granite
 Gneiss
 Sandstone
  Limestone
Guyana’s Essequibo is characterized by ranges of rock types in these areas. Nevertheless, the
Pakaraima Mountain Range are part of the Roraima sedimentary table lands where huge sheet of
sedimentary conglomerates and sandstones is substantially eroded. Major tributaries like the
Mazaruni, Pataro and Siparuni rivers are found in this region. Further South, the Rupununi River
found in the Kanuku Complex, can be characterized by a combination of metamorphic rocks
mixed with igneous granite and dolerite
Figure A: Map of Guyana indicating the Essequibo River Basin
Figure 1: Map of Guyana showing the first to fourth order rivers of the Mazaruni Basin carrying the Dendritic Drainage System.
 2. Trellis Drainage Pattern
The trellis pattern is one in which tributaries join at high angles, often approaching right angles.
This drainage takes place where there is alternate grouping of hard and soft rock to the main
direction of the slope; these rocks of different strengths are resistant to erosion especially in areas
where there is a regular series of folds that tends to form different mountains. The main river has
the power to cut though hard rock while tributaries tends to cut though the softer rock at more or
less right angles.

Although not a prominent pattern in our country’s river systems, the trellis drainage pattern has
made a few appearances on the main rivers like the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers. This
drainage type is characterized by tributaries and distributaries which flow at almost right angles
to the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers. The formation of the trellised pattern is most times
dependent on the occurrence of a fold mountain.

In Guyana, there are a few instances of fold mountains which rendered this pattern, some of
mountain includes Mt. Roraima, Mt. Kunuku, Mt. Acarai, Mt. Ayanganna, Mt. Wokomug, etc.
Also, it is noted that the lower Mazaruni area has a lot of igneous and metamorphic rocks, while
the Region 10 district is a combination of both sand and mostly sedimentary rocks. The currents
of these two rivers are unimaginable and with these characteristics of the topographical and
geophysical landforms, they can flow over hard rocks forming its channel and through soft rocks
forming its streams, tributaries and distributaries.

The Demerara river is found in the Eastern part of the country; it rises from a small source in the
central rainforests and flows northward for 346 km to the Atlantic Ocean. Its streams ascend 65
miles to Linden. This river also divides Region 3 on the west bank from Region 4 to the east.
The Essequibo River is the longest river in Guyana. It stretches approximately 1014 miles from
the Acarai Mountain range near the Brazil Border to the Atlantic Ocean. Its tributaries are what
purifies the various ecosystems of countless waterfalls, thriving forests and wildlife. After these
rivers circle hundreds of islands, it then transcends down to the Parika area before draining into
the Atlantic Ocean.
.

Figure 2: Map of Guyana showing Rupununi and Takutu Rivers running parallel to each other toward the North Eastern direction separated
by fold mountains within the Kanuku Range
Figure 3: Map of Guyana showing the Essequibo and Demerara Rivers running parallel in a North Eastern direction with their
subsequent streams joining at an approximate perpendicular angle.
 3. Rectangular Drainage
The drainage pattern marked by right-angled bends and junctions between tributaries and the
main stream is known as rectangular drainage[ CITATION Jag18 \l 1033 ]. The angular formations of
these channels can sometimes exhibit sections of approximately similar lengths which is
indicative of streams following a prominent fault or joint system that breaks the rocks into
rectangular blocks. Rectangular patterns develop in areas with very little topography and a
system of bedding planes.
The Trellis drainage pattern differs from the rectangular pattern in that it follows the regional
slopes of the areas and are well adjusted to the geological structures.
In Guyana, the rectangular drainage pattern is not prominently found in its natural occurrence;
however, it is found in the form of artificially dug canals; open drainage systems and the East
Demerara Water Conservancy. Canals have been the main manner of coastal drainage for the
past few centuries, since the establishment of plantations along the coastline.
In the 19th century, proposals were made by the colony’s administration to erect sea defenses to
allow for easy drainage and also to obtain irrigation water from inland areas, each rectangular
pattern was established around a plantation. For every square mile of land that was used for
sugar-cane cultivation, about 49 miles of drainage and 16 miles of irrigation were dug.
All artificially dug canals have streams that run parallel and perpendicular to the consequent
channel that empties out into the Atlantic Ocean and spans approximately 230 km along the low
coastal plain from Parika, East Bank Essequibo to Skeldon, East Coast Berbice.
Figure 4: Highlighting the East Demerara Water Conservancy which spans from Mahaica to
Georgetown
Figure 4: Map of Guyana showing the Drainage Canals leading to the Ocean along a section the Low Coastal Plain.
 4. Parallel Drainage
Parallel drainage Patters is a result of rivers that are formed by steep slopes with different reliefs.
These steep slopes and stream are swift and straight with few tributaries that flows in the same
direction. These systems are formed in uniformly sloping surfaces, for example, rivers flowing
northeast into the Mazaruni river from the Pakaraima Mountain Ranges in Guyana.
This drainage pattern develops mainly where there is a pronounced slope to surfaces and in
regions of parallel, elongate landforms like outcropping resistant rock bands. However, because
parallel drainage patterns are mainly formed around mountainous areas, major faults cutting
across an area of steeply folded bedrock can too be identified.
In Guyana, Parallel Drainage is located in the Pakaraima Range. On the map, it is seen that this
drainage pattern is found between two mountains namely; The Haiamatipu and The Kamakusa
Mountains.
Streams and tributaries from those mountain ranges empties into the Kukui River, which then
heads North into the Mazaruni River that flows into the Essequibo River which empties into the
Atlantic Ocean. On that same path, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary streams are formed.
connecting to a main river that heads North into the Atlantic Ocean.
The rivers that empties into the Kukui river forms first and second order streams, these streams
with the Kukui River forms a third order stream which empties into the Mazaruni and the
Essequibo Rivers. These two rivers form a fourth order stream that empties into the Atlantic
Ocean.
Characteristic of Parallel Drainage Systems found in mountainous areas is that, they form;
• Elongated catchment
• Long straight tributaries
• Tributaries joining at small acute angle
Figure 5: Map of Guyana showing the Parallel Drainage Network in the lower Mazaruni
Region in the Pakaraima Range
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