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Essequibo River

File:Essequibo_River.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Essequibo River

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major river in northern South America

Key facts

Country
Guyana
Location
Acarai Mountains
Coordinates
1°25′2.0532″N 58°59′53.8764″W / 1.417237000°N 58.998299000°W / 1.417237000; -58.998299000
Elevation
250 m (820 ft)
Mouth
Atlantic Ocean
Length
1,014 km (630 mi)
Basin size
156,828 km (60,552 mi )
Average
5,000 m /s (180,000 cu ft/s)
Progression
Atlantic Ocean
River system
Essequibo River
Left
Kamoa, Kassikaityu , Kuyuwini , Rupununi , Siparuni , Konawaruk , Potaro , Cuyuni , Supenaam
Right
Chodikar

via Wikipedia infobox

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The Essequibo River (Spanish: Río Esequibo; originally called by Alonso de Ojeda; Río Dulce) is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,014 km (630 mi) through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean. It has a total drainage basin of 156,828 km (60,552 mi) and an average discharge of 154 to 178 km³/year.

Territory near the river is argued over by Venezuela and Guyana. The river is administered by Guyana after being previously colonized by the British. Historically, Venezuela has claimed the Essequibo River as their most eastern border, though in practice it was under Dutch control.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Essequibo River” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (8)

On the map

6 mapped locations