The Kourou is a river in
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
, discharging into 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 ...
. It is long.
The town of
Kourou is located at its estuary, which is generally used as a pleasure port.
Like the
river Amazon
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the List of rivers by discharge, largest river by Discharge (hydrology), discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed List of river systems by length, ...
, it has brown, muddy waters due to sediments picked up from the forest. A great many different fish species live in the river and are used in the local diet.
Like many Guyanaise rivers, it is polluted by
mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, as a result of clandestine
gold mining.
References
Rivers of French Guiana
Rivers of France
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