Editing Orinoco (section)

== History ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=December 2022}}
[[File:Map of Lower Orinoco pub. 1897.jpg|thumb|left|Map of the Lower Orinoco, 1897]]
The mouth of the Orinoco River at the [[Atlantic Ocean]] was documented by [[Christopher Columbus]] on 1 August 1498, during his [[Christopher Columbus#Third voyage and arrest|third voyage]]. Its source at the Cerro Delgado–Chalbaud, in the [[Parima Mountains|Parima range]], was not explored until 453 years later, in 1951. The source, near the Venezuelan–[[Brazil]]ian border, at {{convert|1047|m|ft}} above sea level ({{coord|2|19|05|N|63|21|42|W|}}), was explored in 1951 by a joint French-Venezuelan expedition.

The Orinoco, as well as its tributaries in the eastern [[llanos]] such as the [[Apure River|Apure]] and [[Meta River|Meta]], were explored in the 16th century by German expeditions under [[Ambrosius Ehinger]] and his successors. In 1531, starting at the principal outlet in the delta, the Boca de Navios, [[Diego de Ordaz]] sailed up the river to the Meta. [[Antonio de Berrio]] sailed down the [[Casanare River|Casanare]] to the Meta, and then down the Orinoco River and back to [[Santa Ana de Coro|Coro]]. In 1595, after capturing de Berrio to obtain information while conducting an expedition to find the fabled city of [[El Dorado]], the Englishman [[Sir Walter Raleigh]] sailed down the river, reaching the [[Llanos|savanna country]].

From April to May 1800, the Prussian-born [[Alexander von Humboldt]] and his companion, [[Aimé Bonpland|Aime Bonpland]], explored stretches of the Orinoco, supported by indigenous helpers and guided by his interest to prove that South America's waterways formed an interconnected system from the Andes to the Amazon.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Daum | first=Andreas W.|author-link=Andreas Daum | year=2024 | title=Alexander von Humboldt: A Concise Biography | location=Trans. Robert Savage. Princeton, N.J. | publisher=Princeton University Press |pages=68‒70 | isbn=978-0-691-24736-6 }}</ref> He reported on the [[Boto|pink river dolphins]] and later published extensively on the river's flora and fauna.<ref>Helferich, Gerard (2004) ''Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American Journey that Changed the Way We See the World,'' Gotham Books, New York; {{ISBN|1-59240-052-3}}.</ref>

The sources of the Orinoco River, located at Cerro [[Carlos Delgado Chalbaud]] (2º19’05” N,  63º21’42” W), were discovered in 1951 by the French-Venezuelan expedition that went back and explored the Upper Orinoco course to the [[Parima Mountains|Sierra Parima]] near the border with Brazil, headed by Venezuelan army officer Frank Risquez Iribarren.<ref>Alberto Contramaestre Torres. Expedición a las fuentes del Orinoco. Caracas, 1954.</ref><ref>Pablo J. Anduce. ''Shailili-Ko. Descubrimiento de las fuentes del Orinoco''. Caracas: Talleres Gráficos Ilustraciones S.A., 1960.</ref>

The first bridge across the Orinoco River, the [[Angostura Bridge]] at [[Ciudad Bolívar]], Venezuela, was completed in 1967.<ref>{{cite book|title=In the Wake of Tacoma: Suspension Bridges and the Quest for Aerodynamic Stability|author=Scott, R.|date=2001|publisher=American Society of Civil Engineers|isbn=9780784470732|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dLOR_CjeiBMC|page=184|access-date=13 April 2015}}</ref>

In 1968, an expedition was set off by [[The Geographical Journal]] and [[Hovercraft]] from [[Manaus]] ([[Brazil]]) to Port of Spain (Trinidad). Aboard a [[SR.N6]] hovercraft, the expedition members followed the Negro river upstream to where it is joined by the  [[Casiquiare canal]], on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. After following the Casiquiare to the Orinoco River they hovered thru perilous rapids of the rivers Maipures and Atures. The Orinoco was then traversed down to its mouths in the Gulf of Paria and then to Port of Spain. The primary purpose of the expedition was filming for the [[BBC]] series ''[[The World About Us]]'' episode "The Last Great Journey on Earth from Amazon to Orinoco by Hovercraft", which aired in 1970, and demonstrated the abilities of a hovercraft, thereby promoting sales of this British invention.

The first powerline crossing of the Orinoco River was completed in 1981 for an 800{{nbsp}}kV{{nbsp}}TL single span of {{convert|1200|m|ft}} using two towers {{convert|110|m|ft}} tall.<ref name="SAE-Power">{{Cite web |title=Experience |publisher=SAE Power Lines |url=http://www.saepowerlines.com/eng/esperienze.htm |access-date=13 October 2015 |archive-date=2 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150802012558/http://www.saepowerlines.com/eng/esperienze.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1992, an overhead power line crossing for two 400{{nbsp}}kV-circuits was completed just west of Morocure (between the cities of [[Ciudad Bolívar]] and [[Ciudad Guayana]]), north of the confluence of Routes{{nbsp}}1 and 19. It had three towers, and the two spans measured {{convert|2161|m|ft}} and {{convert|2537|m|ft}}, respectively.<ref name="SAE-Power" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Critical Path |date=June 2005 |magazine=[[PEI (magazine)|PEI]] |pages=105–111, page 107 |url=http://www.pbpower.net/inprint/articles/critical/critical.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923215840/http://www.pbpower.net/inprint/articles/critical/critical.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pylons of the Orinoco High-Voltage Crossing |work=International Database for Civil and Structural Engineering |url=http://structurae.net/structures/pylons-of-the-orinoco-high-voltage-crossing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200554/http://structurae.net/structures/pylons-of-the-orinoco-high-voltage-crossing |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=13 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Orinoco Powerline Crossing |publisher=Skyscraper Source Media Inc. |url=http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=58412 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305034956/http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=58412 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006, a second bridge, known as the [[Orinoquia Bridge]], was completed near [[Ciudad Guayana]], Venezuela.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}