Piedra del Cocuy

Piedra del Cocuy (Portuguese: Pedra do Cucuí; English: Cocuy's Rock) is a natural monument located in the triple border of Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela in the limits of the Amazon and the Orinoco Basins. Piedra del Cocuy is an inselberg of igneous formation from the Precambrian period of around 300 m above the terrain.

Triple border

Administratively the region corresponds to the municipalities of Inírida, Guainía in Colombia, the municipality of Rionegro in the Amazonas State in Venezuela and the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira in the Amazonas State of Brazil. Piedra del Cocuy constitutes the boder landmark that sets the tripoint border between the three countries.

Border Towns

La Guadalupe, on the Colombian side and the western banks of the Rio Negro with a population of around 300 people, mostly Amerindians.

San Simón del Cocuy, on the Venezuelan side and Eastern banks of the Rio Negro, is a constructed town

Cucui, in Brazil, it is actually a military post connected by road to the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira.

Transport

The Rio Negro is the most important waterway.

There is a road (BR-307) that connects the border post of Cocui in the Brazilian side with the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira.

Economy

The region has been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous groups including Baniwa, Karupaka (Kurrin), Karry (Karutama) who belong to the language family Arawak. The main economic activity has been the traditional exploitation of gold which has generated conflicts between the indigenous and the miners (known as garimpeiros)

Coordinates: 1°14′8″N 66°49′10″W / 1.23556°N 66.81944°W / 1.23556; -66.81944