Pico 31 de Março

Pico 31 de Março is a mountain on the Brazil-Venezuela border. At 2,973 metres (9,754 feet) above sea level, it is Brazil's second highest mountain. It is part of the Pico da Neblina massif, and the latter peak, Brazil's highest summit, is only 687 metres (2254 feet) away. Pico 31 de Março can be considered a secondary summit of Pico da Neblina. Therefore, it is usually climbed by expeditions primarily aiming to reach the other peak. Pico 31 de Março is linked to Pico da Neblina by a col that can be easily traversed in a short trek.

Discovery and naming

The peak was discovered in 1964, during the first attempt to climb Pico da Neblina, by a Brazilian army expedition. It received its name (meaning "March 31^st Peak" in Portuguese) as a self-homage by the military regime instated in Brazil a few months earlier on that date, in a coup d'état which was then officially called the "March 31^st Revolution." The peak was finally reached in the following year by another army expedition to Pico da Neblina. The name was not changed after Brazil returned to democratic rule in 1985. In spite of being the highest mountain in Venezuela outside of the Andes, Venezuelans consider Pico 31 de Março to be part of Pico da Neblina, and do not assign it any special name.

Location

The Pico da Neblina massif is the highest point on the Guiana Shield, but unlike famous Monte Roraima, it is not a tepui, as the typical and unique tabletop mountains of the Guiana Highlands are known. Neblina means "fog" in both spanish and Spanish. The mountains are contained in the Brazilian Pico da Neblina National Park; their northern slopes are also protected in Venezuela's Serranía de la Neblina National Park. The twin parks, together with the neighbouring Parima-Tapirapecó National Park (Venezuela), form a protected area complex of about 80,000 km², possibly the largest national park system on tropical rainforests in the world.

Elevation measurements

For 39 years, based on a never before contested measurement performed in 1965 by topographer José Ambrósio de Miranda Pombo, using a theodolite, the elevation of Pico 31 de Março was thought to be 2,992 metres (9,816 feet), but a much more accurate measurement performed in 2004 with state-of-the-art GPS equipment by cartographer Marco Aurélio de Almeida Lima, member of a Brazilian army expedition, puts it at 2,973 metres (9,754 feet). This is now officially recognised by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the federal government's official geographic survey and census agency, which jointly organised the expedition.

Geology and topography

The Pico da Neblina massif is a glaciated tor composed of a tilted block of sandstone overlying Precambrian metamorphic rocks. In contrast to the sharp tooth shape of its higher neighbour, Pico 31 de Março has a smoother shape and is sometimes difficult to be clearly distinguished from Pico da Neblina on photographs, depending on the angle and distance from which the photograph was taken. Due to its equatorial latitude, while it can be cold on top, sub-freezing temperatures and frost appear to be rare (no permanent measurements are undertaken), and there is no snow.

Access

Due to its location in a national park in a border area that is also part of Yanomami territory, access to the area is restricted and depends on a special permit by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). The permit can be obtained at IBAMA's office in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, but all climbers must take an accredited local guide. A four-day trek each way should be expected, three of which consisting of a jungle trek in the rainforest that can be as hard and challenging as the climb itself.

See also

• Pico da Neblina
• Pico da Neblina National Park
• Guiana Highlands

References

• Maguire, Bassett and Reynolds, Charles D. (1955) "Cerro de la Neblina, Amazonas, Venezuela: A Newly discovered Sandstone Mountain" Geographical Review 45(1): pp. 27-51
• Instituto Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento Florestal (1979) Plano do Sistema de Unidades de Conservação do Brasil. Ministério da Agricultura (MA), Instituto Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento Florestal (IBDF) and Fundação Brasileira para a Conservação da Natureza (FBCN), Brasília, D.F., OCLC 6944034 In Portuguese, covers the geology, geomorphology, climate, soils, vegetation and fauna of Pico da Nebilina National Park.
• Gentry, A.H. (1986) "Exploring the Mountain of the Mists" Science Year: The World Book Science Annual pp. 124-139

External links

• Gallery of photographs from a Brazilian expedition to Pico da Neblina (page in Portuguese). Pico 31 de Março can be best viewed on the third picture from the top in the rightmost column, as a blue-shaded smaller peak beside Pico da Neblina, on the background. There is also a picture of Pico da Neblina taken from the top of 31 de Março, showing how close the two peaks are.
• "Pico 31 de Março" Peakbagger