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CARIPE, a small town of Venezuela in the state of Bermfidez,
about 53 M. E.S.E. of Cumana. It is the chief station of the Capuchin missions to the Chayma Indians, founded toward the close of the 17th century, and stands 2635 ft. above sea-level, in a fertile valley of the Sierra Bergantfn, long celebrated for its cool, invigorating climate. The locality is also celebrated for the extensive system of caves in the limestone rocks found in its vicinity, which were described by Humboldt in his Personal Narrative. The principal cave, known as-the Cueva del Guacharo, extends inward a distance of 2800 ft. with a height of 7o-8o ft. These caves are frequented by a species of night-hawk, called guacharo, which nests in the recesses of the rocks. The young are killed in great numbers for their oil. Caripe itself has a population of only 58o, but the valley and neighbouring stations have about ten times that number. Caripe should not be confounded with Rio Caribe, a town and port on the Caribbean coast a short distance east of Carilpano,which has a population of about6000.