History

Airplane

How to get to Angel Falls - Accommodation - Map info@salto-angel.com

HISTORY OF THE GEOLOGIC FORMATION OF THE NATIONAL PARK OF CANAIMA....

The park is part of the plateau of the Guyanese shield that underlies the entirety of the lands located in  Venezuela to the south of the Orinoco, it is composed of two fundamental Geologic formations. The Igneous-metamorphic basement, with an age estimated in 2000 million years represents the old crust of our planet. 
These Important changes can be experienced in the geographical area where the national park Canaima is located, from its beginnings, what today visualizes is the result of a long period of processes of geologic transformations through the time up until today. With two thousand million years, back at the precambric, it dates from the time that the super continent Pangaea was formed, which includes: America, Africa, Antarctic, Asia and Europe.

This continent began to separate due to the formation of a fracture in the planet's crust. Originating this way the formation of the Atlantic ocean and the creation of different portions of lands called shields. The geographic region in Venezuela of the Guyanese Shield existed from the start.

It started as a great plain of plane lands, where the height was at the today's same level as the visible Tepuy's about 2000 -3000 meters.
The formation of these lands originates due to the erosion, which is the displacement of different types of materials that, as they traveled because of the action of strong currents of water, they transported rocks and minerals to distant places.
These materials were settling creating a basement of rocks igneous and metamorphic coming from the bark where they would originate, these silts product of the erosion of the crystalline rock, were consolidating in stratum of gritty.
Cuarcitas and Shales, these rocks ended up covering several kilometers of the crust, then, the strange mountains were formed called Tepuys that we see today as a strange mountain formation all flat and with its own world on top of it.
In the places where the depositions of materials was carried out in a certain order, the resulting rock was of a great resistance. In the opposite area the deposits settled in a disordered way forming a bed rock with less resistance. 
After the formation of the great plain, during a long period of time (approximately among 400-200 million years) a series of climatologically phenomena caused important changes in the geography of the Guyanese shield. 
The transformation of the landscape owed herself basically to drastic variations of arid climate to humid and vice versa, of strong constant and lingering precipitations, droughts, freezing, discharges with high and low temperatures, storms, hurricanes, and the tectonic movements of the earth. 
The erosion of the atmospheric agents was removing the material deposited in the great plain during millions of years. 
In places where the rock was less resistant the erosion was bigger, being a result of this great transformation, the Tepuys and the landscape of the national park of Canaima reviles its fantastic scenery of today.
This land is without comparison and a faithful testimony of the experienced changes through millions of years, it is a geographical area of infinite beauty.
James Crawford was certainly an adventurer, a bohemian, a man of stunts. All kinds of legends and doubtful stories have been told in bars and he did enjoy bars and nightlife. Above all he loved his ability to fly and enterntain, and years later he would be forever enchanted by nature.

Some may ask why is James to be remembered, if as a matter of fact the Auyantepuy was discovered several hundreds of years before and the same for the Churun Meru, the original name of the Falls given by the Pemon Indians. These indians were often aids and helpers in searching for gold, they did know of it's existance but back then it was considered just a tall tale. Of course they knew about the Auyantepuy, it not only is the biggest Tepuy, but it can be seen from the Carrao River, indians did have boats and the Carrao is very long.

So, you might ask, if the Falls had a name, why replace it with the name of an adventurer? The reason is simple. The Pemon, they did not love the mountain, they actually feared it, Auyantepuy is the Pemon word for Devil's mountain! The Explorers saw it in awe, but they did not love it as to risk their lives and their wife's just to be on it. James had something nature and our country appreciates, he had a real love for Canaima, almost an addiction, an obsession, he was spell bound by nature, and that is reasonable, if we see the pictures of the area we find extraordinary places, add this to the fact that the area was vastly unexplored. Jimmy felt like being in another world.
We as Venezuelans can only be happy someone loved part of our country with so much passion. When we think about it, we should always be glad he never found his gold mountain, he found something better. A gold mountain would be a total disaster, mining towns would ravage the jungle destroying everything at it's path, and at the end there would be no more gold, no more jungle as well and the gold price a little less expensive. What he did leave in history is the love for nature, a symbol of EcoTourism his actions are gold for nature lovers around the world.

So today, even if Angel as a very irresponsible man when it came to telling the authorities his actions, and even if that meant death for many pilots, we can see in Angel a man that had a profound admiration for Venezuela, where his ashes are now and his story is to soar in the minds of nature lovers and adventurers around the globe, an example of how much a man can be touched by the beauty of nature. That is why we call the waterfall Angel Falls, not the Churun Meru Falls.

Most likely, there is no other place in the world more fit for an adventure pilot. Canaima has a very different geography, unique in our planet. We are happy Angel's love for Canaima has helped other people around the world love it as well, that is his legacy, that is his gold mountain for all nature lovers and EcoTourism around the world.

There is nothing on the name Churun Meru, so it is fair to give the waterfall the name of a man who really loved it. His spirit of adventure has helped raise interest in tourists around the globe, he is an example of the pasion of EcoTourism and Adventure Tours. We could hardly think of anyone more fit to have his name on the Fall, that is why we are glad the Churun Meru is now Angel Falls.

James Crawford Angel.

James Crawford Angel was born in Springfield, Missouri on August 1, 1899, he was a Canadian Pilot on the First World War.

Back at that time and with the war going on people were often affected by the war. The United States had a very great urge for entertainment, television and movie theaters were too primitive and there was a fascination of most people on mankind's ability to fly on machines, with this it is easy to imagine how much emotion and fun a stunt pilot provided to people and Jimmy loved that, he loved to be around people, even if it meant to risk too much. He worked with Charles Lindbergh at his Flying Circus as a stunt Pilot, which adds to the fact that he was a daring, good pilot. 
In 1921 J.R. McCracken, a Geologist and Explorer, knowledgeable of geological formations and with a strong desire to explore one of the most fascinating lands then discovered and unexplored hired Jimmy for a trip to “The Lost world”. The interesting fact is that he hired a man who was a war and stunt pilot, obviously McCracken was well aware of the skill level needed for the mission. 
Now that we look back in time, McCracken was well aware of the Tepuys, and the incredible age of the land which he could only imagine, it was all too obvious for a geologist to think that in a land eroded since the beginning of the planet it would be very hard to land and this is specially true on top of a Tepuy, who’s surface would be extremely eroded. This is why he asked Jimmy if he was the one who could land on a dime, and that was the point, the mission was a hard landing only a stunt pilot could make.

McCracken paid 3000$ dollars, which was a respectable amount back then and with the advance payment he bought a used plane. Little did he know of the challenge he was facing.

To have an idea of how difficult it would be observe the following picture of the top of a Tepuy:

This added to the fact that in the middle of nowhere in a lost land deeply covered with thick, dense jungle it was almost impossible to land on the ground. The takeoff would be even harder to achieve because no part is totally flat and even if  there was, mud and irregular terrain would be a problem. Another fact is that the fuel added weight and while looking around or just evading the clouds the plane can run out of fuel with nowhere to land.

Some say that they landed on a Tepuy, got gold out of one and returned. It is doubtful, probably they over flew the area, impressed by the fantastic sight and returned back to Ciudad Bolivar. The nuggets could be purchased there as well. But anyway, the fact is that the return to that "gold mountain" became the myth behind Angel's true mission, his mission.
Flying over some dull city back at his country was boring, many pilots as well, not much to do in a plane other than get faster to some place or do stunts. Canaima proved to be a spectacular sight, a true paradise for a pilot, feeling his talent cross thick, dense tropical rainforest, seeing things no man has seen before, probably feeling like Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. He simply loved the place, enchanted by the awesome beauty of the unique ancient lands.
Several people helped fund his trips in search for gold and his gold mountain, probably taking tourists or geologists on the way thus becoming the first charter plane on the area.

In 1930 he flew twice to the Auyantepuy, the largest of the tepuys with over 700 square km. Dick Curry, a mining engineer was his passenger. He could not land on the top of the Auyantepuy.

The Auyantepuy, has a canyon that reaches it's center. Inside it is the Angel Falls. Even if Angel had seen the Auyantepuy, it was in 1935 when the waterfall was first seen. This time Case Pomeroy Co. financed an expedition to the top of the Auyantepuy. James Angel, Durant C. Hall and L.R. Dennison, both representatives of the company landed in the Kamarata Valley on March 25, 1935, discovered the canyon and saw the “waterfall that was coming directly from the sky.

Jimmy got married in 1937 and with his wife Marie Sanders, Joe Meacham (an owner of a night club in Arizona) and the help of the Venezuelan Gustavo Heny (Explorer who had explored the area before) he flew to the Auyantepuy to make his greatest stunt, to land on top of the Auyantepuy and return home. The small plane did land, but the terrain was too harsh for takeoff, Jimmy had to leave his plane behind, only to trade it for his place in history. It took him 11 days to get back to the camp at Kamarata and leave using the Carrao River, without his plane and almost starved in the middle of unexplored lands.

In 1942 Angel got lost in the tropical jungle, and several planes were sent to find him. Now here is the point one can appreciate how daring and a good pilot Jimmy was, several planes were sent to search for him, many crashed into the jungle, lost or without fuel, there were no airstrips like nowadays.

For the loss of those pilots, and for his repeated unauthorized flights and excursions he was declared a unwanted person and his permision to be in Venezuela was suspended.

Jimmy Angel died in Panama on December 8, 1956 at the Gorgas Hospital, his last wish being that his ashes return to Angel Falls, and so it was conceited.

The Airplane

Built by the All Metal Aircraft Corporation, the Flamingo was a model G-2-W (c/n 11) and registered NC-94873; sold 08/03/36 to James Crawford Angel and partners; later it was registered by a Joel Eli Meachan, of Phoenix Arizona on 01/06/37.

The Flamingo was an eight place airplane, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine of 450hp. This particular Flamingo, was named "El Rio Caroni." At least 21 examples of this model were built, but the Rio Caroni is the sole survivor. The All Metal Aircraft Company ceased to exist many years ago.

As we have already stated, after their eventful landing, the Rio Caroni was abandoned on top of the Auyantepui, to remain there until the early months of 1970. Jimmie's youngest son, Roland, went to Angel Falls in 1965 accompanied by the writer Carl Mydans and found the Flamingo airplane, the "El Rio Caroni" still on the same location where his parents had abandoned 28 years before; many years of exposure to harsh tropical sun and rain bleached airplane, although the structure in general was reported to be in the good conditions it had so many years back.

In 1970, as part of the activities related to their 50th anniversary, the Fuerza Aerea Venezolana (FAV) mounted an operation to rescue the airplane. The FAV personnel under the Command of Coronel Edgar Suarez Mier y Teran and of Gustavo Fernandez, acting as the chief of the base for the "Operacion Auyantepui" disassembled it, and using a Bell UH-1H helicopter to transport the airplane, first to Canaima, on 6 February, 1970 and later on a Fairchild C-123 was used to transport the airplane from Canaima to Caracas, where it was restored.

As a testament to the rugged construction of the airplane, when it was taken apart for transportation to Canaima, structurally the airframe was in very good shape; the battery still had a charge! Controversy has also followed the Rio Caroni; there was a dispute of ownership between the Venezuelan Air Force, who at first had assumed ownership of the airplane and the residents of Ciudad Bolivar until 1971, when the FAV informed the newspaper El Universal that they would return the airplane to Ciudad Bolivar. After its restoration, it was first displayed on a park in Canaima (Parque Ruiz Pineda), not far from the Ciudad Bolivar airport's terminal. Then, it was moved to the Museo Aeronautico de Maracay, until 1980 when it was moved back to Ciudad Bolivar.

It was displayed on a traffic circle in front of the airport, where it was hit by a car. Vandalism has taken its toll, and there are many parts missing from the airplane. There have been many plans formulated to build a metallic structure over this historic airplane, to preserve it from the harsh elements prevalent in this region of South America, but nothing has been done.

There is also a movement in Venezuela, to have the Rio Caroni returned to the top of the Auyantepui, where they say, it belongs. The Venezuelan Government has declared the Rio Caroni a National Monument.