Demerara River

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Demerara River
Demerara Harbour bridge crossing.JPG
Crossing the Demerara River via the Demerara Harbour Bridge
Guyana physical map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of mouth
Location
Country Guyana
Physical characteristics
Mouth Atlantic Ocean
  location
Georgetown
  coordinates
6°48′44″N58°10′12″W / 6.8121°N 58.1701°W / 6.8121; -58.1701
Length346 km (215 mi)

The Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana that rises in the central rainforests of the country and flows to the north for 346 kilometres until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Georgetown, Guyana's largest seaport and capital, is situated on the east bank of the river's mouth. The river divides Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region 3) on the west bank from Demerara-Mahaica (Region 4) to the east.

Contents

The name "Demerara" comes from a variant of the Arawak word "Immenary" or "Dumaruni" which means "river of the letter wood" (wood of Brosimum guianense tree). [1]

Features

Demerara's estuary is narrow and the flowrate is rapid. This scouring action maintains a 5-to-6-metre-deep direct channel to the ocean. The river's deep brown color is primarily the result of the massive quantities of silt carried from upriver by the powerful currents. So powerful are these currents, that the ocean retains the Demerara's brown color for a considerable distance out to sea.

Tributaries of the Demerara River include the Haiama River, [2] Kuruabaru River, [3] Haiakwa Creek [4] and Haianari Creek.

The islands Inver, Borsselen, and Biesen are found 25 to 30 kilometres (15 to 20 mi) from the mouth. Borsselen was once the location of the Dutch capital of Demerara. [5]

Transportation and use

The Demerara's width and depth allow oceangoing vessels up to 5,000 t to navigate up to Linden (105 km from the mouth), while smaller vessels may reach up to Malali (245 km from the mouth). Beyond Malali, numerous rapids make further upstream travel impossible.

A floating bridge, the Demerara Harbour Bridge, crosses the river 6 kilometres (4 mi) south of Georgetown from Peter's Hall, East Bank Demerara to Schoon Ord, West Bank Demerara. [6]

A Dutch colony of the same name was situated along the river's banks. The colony founded the sugarcane industry that continues to thrive today. Bauxite is also mined around the Demerara, and Linden is a major export centre.

Related Research Articles

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Demerara is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 until 1815. It was merged with Essequibo in 1812 by the British who took control. It formally became a British colony in 1815 until Demerara-Essequibo was merged with Berbice to form the colony of British Guiana in 1831. In 1838, it became a county of British Guiana until 1958. In 1966, British Guiana gained independence as Guyana and in 1970 it became a republic as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. It was located around the lower course of the Demerara River, and its main settlement was Georgetown.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demerara Harbour Bridge</span> Bridge in Guyana

The Demerara Harbour Bridge is a 6,074-foot (1,851 m) long floating toll bridge. It was commissioned on 2 July 1978. The bridge crosses the Demerara River 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the Guyanese capital Georgetown, from Peter's Hall, Demerara-Mahaica, East Bank Demerara to Schoon Ord, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, West Bank Demerara. There is a pedestrian footwalk. A raised section lets small vessels pass under. A retractor span lets large vessels pass.

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Soesdyke is a village in the Demerara-Mahaica Region, Guyana, located between the Demerara River and the East Bank Public Road. Soesdyke is located just after the village called Den Heuvel (Coverden) if you are coming from Georgetown, which is the capital of Guyana. On the other end of Soesdyke is the village Timehri about 3 miles northeast of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plantation Peter's Hall</span> Coffee and sugar plantation

Plantation Peter's Hall was a plantation on the east bank of the River Demerara in Dutch Guiana and British Guiana. It was probably laid out in the mid-eighteenth century and by the early nineteenth century had over 200 slaves before that institution was abolished in the British Empire.

Borsselen is an island in the Demerara River of Guyana, and was the capital of Demerara between 1755 and 1782.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston, Guyana</span> Ward in Georgetown, Guyana

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References

  1. Benn, Brindley H. (1962-06-30). "Guyana the Name". Thunder. Georgetown, Guyana. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008.
  2. Guiana, British (1916). The Official Gazette of British Guiana. p. 1529.
  3. "Indonesian national dies after hitting head on felled tree root". Stabroek News. 2019-04-07. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  4. Guiana, British (1905). Administration Reports, for the Year ... p. 264.
  5. "Establishment of Demerara". Guyana Times International. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  6. The Demerara Harbour Bridge. Archived 2019-03-06 at the Wayback Machine overtown.org.uk Retrieved 4 March 2019.