South America: All about Guyana Quiz

Answer: Demerara River

Established in the late 1700s, Georgetown was officially named in 1812.

The Demerara River is around 215 miles (345 km) long, and was called by the Spanish "'Rio de Mirar" that is, "the wonderful river." However, the Demerara gets its name from the Dutch word "Demirar" which also means "wonderful." The river is so abundant in silt that its brown colour can be seen from a considerable distance away.

The Demerara River features the Demerara Harbour Bridge, a 23,000 feet (7,000 m) open floating bridge which was completed in 1978.

Answer: Suriname

Brazil does border Guyana, but Brazil lies south and southwest. Brazil also shares a border with Venezuela, but Venezuela lies west.

The border between Guyana and Suriname lies along the Corentyne River, with both countries in disagreement regarding where the exact lines are. The current border disputes are a result of colonialism where the British (Guyana) and Dutch (Suriname) established the boundaries. Along the border, both countries claim ownership of a 6,000 square mile (15,600 square km) named the New River Triangle.

Answer: Acarai Mountains

The Essequibo River is around 630 miles (1,015 m) long, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There are over 300 species of fish that reside in this river, 60 of which are species endemic to the river. The river is named after Juan de Esquivel (1480-1513), the first European to discover the river.

The Acarai Mountains, situated in the south of Guyana, close to the country's border with Brazil, are the source of the Essequibo River, which flows north through Guyana, and the Corentyne River, which forms a portion of Guyana's border with Suriname.

Answer: Shell Beach

Located in the Barima-Waini Region, Shell Beach is close to Guyana's border with Venezuela. The beach is around 75 miles (120 km) long and gets its name from the composition of its sands, which feature an abundance of fragmented shells. The beach is around one of the most preserved mangrove forests of Guyana.

Shell Beach is a nesting area for four species of turtle: Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Green (Chelonia mydas), Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) and Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles. Nesting season is from February to August and locals annually get involved with wildlife conservationists to protect the turtles.

Answer: Flood

Between January/February 2005, two-thirds of Georgetown was severely afflicted with flooding, with water reaching 1.5 meters (5 feet) in some parts. Around 40% of Guyana's population at the time (around 290,000 people) were displaced. The flood overwhelmed the drinking water supply and there was an outbreak of the bacterial disease, leptospirosis.

The flood caused an estimated US$465 million in damages, around 60% of Guyana's GDP at the time.

Answer: Bauxite

Named after Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, who was Guyana's Prime Minister during the time of the country's unification, Linden is capital of the Upper Demerara-Berbice region, and is situated on the Demerara River.

Bauxite was identified in Linden as early as 1868 and has been mined commercially in Linden since 1916. Due to the frequency of mining, a series of deep pits have formed, leading to the creation of "Blue Lake" (Kara Kara Lake) notable for its striking blue water.

Answer: Golden rocket frog

The golden rocket frog (Anomaloglossus beebei) abides only in the Kaieteur National Park in Guyana. In contrast to other frogs where the male frogs have more striking colours, the female golden rocket frog features bright orange and gold colouring, whereas the males are a dark brown or tan. The frog is small, only growing to around 2 cm (0.79 inches) long.

The golden rocket frog depends on only one plant in the Kaieteur National Park, a species of giant tank bromeliad, the Brocchinia micrantha. There is around 20 square km of this plant in the park. This limited range is why the frog is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Answer: Cheddi Jagan Research Centre

Situated in the Kingston area of Georgetown, the Red House was constructed in the 19th century. It was the residence of various colonial secretaries between 1925-1953. By 1961 the building was the residence of the Premier of British Guiana, Cheddi Jagan (1918-1997) who held this office between 1961-1964. He also became the President of Guyana in 1992 until his death in 1997.

The Red House was considered dilapidated in the early 1990s and was scheduled for demolition. However, it was instead refurbished in 1997 and is now a national monument of Guyana.

The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre is run by the family and friends of Cheddi Jagan, and is dedicated to his legacy, life and actions.

Answer: Cuffy

Also known as Kofi Badu, Cuffy is hailed as a national hero in Guyana, as the leader of the 5,000-strong Berbice slave rebellion in 1763. Cuffy was born in the south of Ghana, and his birthname, Kofi, is designated to boys born on a Friday in Akan tradition. Before he rose to leading the Berbice slave rebellion, Cuffy was a household slave on the Lilienburg Plantation.

On February 23 1763 (a date which has been celebrated as Republic Day in Guyana since 1970), Cuffy established the rebellion, with his 5,000 supporters outnumbering the Dutch colonizers. The rebels had full control of most of the colony and the territory around the Berbice River for almost a year. After a lot of infighting and power struggles amongst the rebels, Cuffy committed suicide in 1763.

The monument to Cuffy was designed by Guyanese sculptor, Philip Moore (1921-2012).

Answer: Mount Roraima

Consisting of Precambrian sandstone that is over 2 billion years old, Mount Roraima is a flat-topped mountain that reaches around 9,220 feet (2,810 m). It is one of the oldest land formations on Earth. Around 85% of the mountain's area is in Venezuela. In 1884, Sir Everard im Thurn led an expedition to the mountain, which later inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write "The Lost World" in 1912.

Because of intense rainfall around Mount Roraima, the soil on the mountain is highly acidic and not nutritious. Therefore, plants on the mountain have evolved to be carnivorous. Animals endemic to Mount Roraima include the Roraima bush toad, a small, black toad that cannot jump.

The local Pemon indigenous people consider Mount Roraima to be sacred.

Answer: Kaieteur Falls

At around 740 feet (225 m) high, Kaieteur Falls stretch around four times higher than Niagara Falls. Kaieteur Falls' height and volume make it one of the most powerful waterfalls on earth. The falls are located in Kaieteur National Park and named for a local legend about Kai, a Patamona chief who paddled his canoe over the edge of the falls in order to sacrifice himself to save his people from a rival attacking tribe.

The first European to discover Kaieteur Falls was C. Barrington Brown, an English geologist, in 1870. Kaieteur National Park is now a protected rainforest.

Answer: 2007 Cricket World Cup

Opened in 2007, Providence Stadium was built to replace the historic Bourda Cricket Ground, which had ceased to meet the standards for international cricket games. Providence Stadium is also known as Guyana National Stadium. On March 28, 2007, the first cricket match was held at the stadium, with Sri Lanka playing South Africa. While being designed for cricket, the stadium has also hosted several football and rugby matches, as well as concerts.

Providence Stadium cost an estimated $25 to $30 million to construct, with India providing a US$6 million grant for the project. The building shows evidence of Indian architecture, being designed by C.R. Narayana Rao (CRN) Architects and Engineers Chennai and constructed by Indian firm, Shapoorji Pallonji Group. The field includes a submerged drainage system, crucial for its functionality in Guyana's climate.

Answer: Berbice River

The Berbice River is around 370 miles (595 km) long and flows through the east of Guyana, beginning in the Rupununi highlands and flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. The river gets its name from the Dutch colony of Berbice, established in around 1627. The Berbice River was the site of the 1763 Slave Rebellion led by Cuffy. The river is surrounded by dense forest and swamps and is home to the black caiman, giant river otters, jaguars and Guyana's national bird, the Hoatzin.

Established by the Dutch in 1740, New Amsterdam was originally named "Fort Sint Andries" but was renamed New Amsterdam as Amsterdam is where most of the Dutch colonists were from. From 1790, New Amsterdam was the seat of the Dutch colonial government until the British took control of the area in 1803.

Answer: Bourda Cemetery

Established in the 18th century, Bourda Cemetery is the oldest surviving cemetery of Georgetown, recognised officially as a monument by the National Trust of Guyana. Some of the cemetery's oldest graves date to 1815 and 1822. The land was once part of a plantation belonging to Joseph Bourda, a Dutch planter who twice became governor of Demerara. The cemetery was once known as "Bourda's Walk." The cemetery has been in danger of demolition to make space for urban developments, however, heritage enthusiasts of Guyana have successfully protected the monument.

Notable burials in Bourda Cemetery include the first mayor of Georgetown, John Croal, who died in 1853, and British planter William Booker who died in 1839.

Answer: Umana Yana

The Umana Yana gets its name from the Wai-Wai Amerindian language, meaning "meeting place of the people." Constructed in 1972, the conical, palm thatched, traditional benab style building was built for the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference as a recreation lounge. It is around 55 feet (17 m) high.

Headed by Chief Elka, around 60 Wai-Wai Amerindian men constructed Umana Yana. The structure has been rebuilt and replaced over the years, with the original building collapsing in 1993. The replacement for the original building burned down in a fire in 2014. The replacement to this building was completed in 2016, and featured dhalibanna leaves instead of troolie leaves. Using tradition Wai-Wai construction techniques, the original building and each of its replacements were built using no nails.