The Demerara River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

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 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 ...

. 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 Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region 3) is a region of Guyana. Split in two by the Essequibo River, Venezuela claims the territory to the west of Essequibo river as part of Delta Amacuro state, what represents Essequibo Islands. Unlike Wes ...

(Region 3) on the west bank from

Demerara-Mahaica Demerara-Mahaica (Region 4) is a region of Guyana, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the region of Mahaica-Berbice to the east, the region of Upper Demerara-Berbice to the south and the region of Essequibo Islands-West Demerara to the ...

(Region 4) to the east. The name "Demerara" comes from a variant of the

Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Great ...

word "Immenary" or "Dumaruni" which means "river of the letter wood" (wood of ''

Brosimum guianense ''Brosimum guianense'', called snakewood, letterwood, leopardwood, and amourette, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Brosimum'', native to southern Mexico, Central America, Trinidad, and tropical South America. A tree reaching , its ...

'' tree).

Features

Demerara's

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

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, Kuruabaru River, Haiakwa Creek and Haianari Creek. The islands

Inver Inver () is a small village in County Donegal, Ireland. It lies on the N56 National secondary road midway between Killybegs to the west and Donegal Town to the east. It is also a civil parish in the historic barony of Banagh. History Inve ...

Borsselen Borsselen (also Borslem) is an island in the Demerara River of Guyana, and was the capital of Demerara between 1755 and 1782. History In 1745, Demerara was created as a separate colony out of Essequibo, and was initially governed from Essequibo. ...

, and Biesen are found from the mouth. Borsselen was once the location of the Dutch capital of

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) 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 ...

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 The Demerara Harbour Bridge is a long floating toll bridge. It was commissioned on 2 July 1978. The bridge crosses the Demerara River south of the Guyanese capital Georgetown, from Peter's Hall, Demerara-Mahaica, East Bank Demerara to Scho ...

, crosses the river south of Georgetown from Peter's Hall, East Bank Demerara to Schoon Ord, West Bank Demerara.The Demerara Harbour Bridge.
overtown.org.uk Retrieved 4 March 2019. 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 Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...

is also mined around the Demerara, and Linden is a major

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

centre.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Guyana