The Berbice River, located in eastern
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
, is one of the country's major rivers. It rises in the highlands of the
Rupununi
The Rupununi is a region in the south-west of Guyana, bordering the Brazilian Amazon. The Rupununi river, also known by the local indigenous peoples as ''Raponani'', flows through the Rupununi region. The name Rupununi originates from the word '' ...
region and flows northward for through dense forests to the coastal plain. The river's tidal limit is between from the sea.
Geography
Obstructed by shallows at its estuary, the Berbice River's mouth is the location of
Crab Island, opposite the mouth of the
Canje River
The Canje River (sometimes referred to as Canje Creek), located in northeastern Guyana, is the main tributary of the Berbice River. It runs roughly parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast in East Berbice-Corentyne, region 6.
The settlement of B ...
, the Berbice's main tributary.
Quantity of water based on the streamflow of the gauging station at Itabu Falls (04'52'N0'50'13'W) is .
History
The Dutch established a foothold on the Berbice River as early as 1629 for trading with the Amerindians. Plantations formed along the river, and it later became the location of a major
slave uprising
A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedo ...
. In 1627, the settlement of
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
(the name was used for many of the Dutch forts in the seventeenth century) was founded by the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...
. The area was passed over to the British in 1815 and merged with the neighboring British Guiana.
The town of
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...
is situated on the river's east bank, approximately four miles inside the river's estuary, where it enters the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. A new bridge over the river joins New Amsterdam to
Rosignol
Rosignol is a village on the west bank of the Berbice River in Mahaica-Berbice
Mahaica-Berbice (Region 5) is a region of Guyana, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the region of East Berbice-Corentyne to the east, the region of Upper ...
. Other communities on the Berbice River include
Everton,
Mara,
Takama,
Kalkuni and
Kwakwani
Kwakwani is a mining and logging village on the Berbice River in the Upper Demerara-Berbice Region of Guyana. Its altitude is 44 metres (147 feet). Kwakwani is approximately 100 km south of Linden. In 1942, the Berbice Bauxite Company ...
.
The river has served to transport Bauxite from the major mine at Kwakwani (currently owned by
Rusal
United Company RUSAL, international public joint-stock company (russian: МКПАО «ОК РУСАЛ», MKPAO «ОК RUSAL») is the world's second largest aluminium company by primary production output (as of 2016). It was the largest until ov ...
).
Infrastructure
A ferry service transferred goods and people between Kwakwani and New Amsterdam, but was discontinued in the 1990s.
Torani Canal The Torani Canal in northeastern Guyana serves to move water from the Berbice River into the Canje River. It was to serve as irrigation for the sugar industry, and subsequently the rice industry.
The canal is 14 miles long. The Berbice River inle ...
was built to allow water to flow from the Berbice River into the Canje River for maintaining water levels for irrigation purposes.
On December 23, 2008, construction of the
Berbice Bridge
The Berbice Bridge is a pontoon bridge over the Berbice River near New Amsterdam in Guyana. The bridge is tolled and was opened on 23 December 2008.
With the completion of the Berbice Bridge, and the earlier completion of the Coppename Bridge ...
linking D’Edward Village, Crab Island, and the Courantyne Highway was completed.
See also
*
Berbice
Berbice is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 to 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Britain ...
*
Courantyne River
The Courantyne/Corentyne/Corantijn River is a river in northern South America in Suriname and Guyana. It is the longest river in the country and creates the border between Suriname and the East Berbice-Corentyne region of Guyana.
Its tributarie ...
*
Mining in Guyana Mining in Guyana is a significant contributor to the economy owing to sizable reserves of bauxite, gold, and diamonds. Much of these resources are found in Guyana's Hilly Sand and Clay belt, a region that makes up 20% of the country.
Gold
In 2012 ...
References
Further reading
A Journey on the Berbice River and Wieroonie Creekby Ernest Glaisher (1885)
{{Authority control
Rivers of Guyana