The San Juan River (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Río San Juan''), also known as El Desaguadero ("the drain"), is a river that flows east out of

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the t ...

into the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. A large section of the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

between

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

runs on the southern bank of the river. It was part, with the lake, of a proposed route for a

Nicaragua Canal The Nicaraguan Canal ( es, Canal de Nicaragua), formally the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project (also referred to as the Nicaragua Grand Canal, or the Grand Interoceanic Canal) was a proposed shipping route through Nicaragua to connect th ...

in the 19th century. The idea of the project has been revived in the last decade, including the possibility of other routes within the country. The

Ecocanal The Nicaraguan Ecocanal was a proposed project in Nicaragua to build a shallow-draft waterway connecting the inland Lake Nicaragua with the Caribbean Sea via the San Juan River in the south of the country. The main aim of the waterway was to prov ...

project has obtained a Concession from the

National Assembly of Nicaragua The National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Nicaragua founded in 1986 to replace the bicameral National Congress of Nicaragua, which consisted of two chambers. Composition The Nic ...

to re-open the San Juan River to commercial barge traffic. The

Cañas–Jerez Treaty The Cañas–Jerez Treaty between Costa Rica and Nicaragua was enacted April 15, 1858 as a solution to the growing border tension between the two countries. The treaty was negotiated between Máximo Jerez representing Nicaragua and José María ...

states that Nicaragua owns the waters of the river and that Costa Rica can only use it for commercial navigation on certain parts of the river at Nicaragua's discretion. The San Juan River is home to freshwater

bull shark The bull shark (''Carcharhinus leucas''), also known as the Zambezi shark (informally zambi) in Africa and Lake Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a species of requiem shark commonly found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in ri ...

s that also go into Lake Nicaragua in addition to a wide array of marine life and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

History

Before the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

, the San Juan River was frequently used as a major part of the route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Many people, including African slaves, were transported via this route. During the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

, many people from all over the world traveled to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to mine for gold. Tens of thousands took a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

that was operated by the

Accessory Transit Company The Accessory Transit Company was a company set up by Cornelius Vanderbilt and others during the California Gold Rush in the 1850s, to transport would-be prospectors from the east coast of the United States to the west coast. At the time, an over ...

and was directed by

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

. The boat travelled up the San Juan River and across Lake Nicaragua; a

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

completed the connection to the Pacific coast.

Rapids

As one travels upstream from the Caribbean Sea to Lake Nicaragua, one encounters the following sets of rapids: *Raudal de Machuca *Raudal del Mico *Raudal Los Valos *Raudal del Castillo (Raudal del Diablo) *Raudal del Toro

References

External links

*
{{Authority control Rivers of Nicaragua Rivers of Costa Rica Biosphere reserves of Nicaragua International rivers of North America Costa Rica–Nicaragua border Lake Nicaragua Border rivers

History

Rapids

See also

References

External links