Cerro de la Neblina, also known as Serra da Neblina in Brazil and Sierra de la Neblina in Venezuela, is a sandstonemassif located in the northern Amazon Basin. It is a tilted, heavily eroded plateau, with a deep canyon in its central portion, drained by the Baria River. Most of the massif is in Venezuelan territory, but its southeastern ridge forms part of the Brazil–Venezuela border, and this ridge is where the highest point in the massif, Pico da Neblina, is located. At above sea level, Pico da Neblina is also the highest point in the entire country of Brazil, the highest point in the Guiana Shield, and the highest South American mountain east of the Andes. Pico da Neblina is inside Brazilian territory, but only a few hundred metres from the Venezuelan border. The slightly lowerPico 31 de Março or Pico Phelps, a.s.l., lies next to Pico da Neblina, on the precise international border. Pico 31 de Março/Phelps is Brazil's second-highest mountain and the highest in Venezuela outside of the Andes. The massif's other named peaks include Pico Cardona, Pico Maguire, and Pico Zuloaga. To the north of Cerro de la Neblina lie the smaller outcrops of Cerro Aracamuni and Cerro Avispa, both reaching approximately in elevation. The massif was first explored in 1954 by an American expedition led by Bassett Maguire that performed an aerial inspection and then climbed the massif's northwestern slopes. Brewer-Carías, C.. . Río Verde6: 61–74. In January 1999, a group of carnivorous plant enthusiasts climbed Pico da Neblina following a 30km hike up the previously unexplored northeastern ridge. Cerro de la Neblina is sometimes referred to as the Neblina Massif, though this term may also encompass Cerro Aracamuni and Cerro Avispa. The Neblina–Aracamuni Massif has a total summit area of roughly and an estimated slope area of, of which Cerro de la Neblina accounts for and, respectively. Maguire's passage to Venezuela was provided by Gulf Oil executive Willard F. Jones.
