The Takutu River (Takatu River, Tacutu River) is a river in the
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Upper Takutu-Upper Esequibo (Region 9) is a region of Guyana. Venezuela claims the territory as part of Bolívar (state) in Esequiban Guyana.
It borders the region of Potaro-Siparuni to the north, the region of East Berbice-Corentyne to the ea ...
Region of
Guyana and
Roraima in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. It forms part of the boundary between the two countries. The
confluence of the Takutu and
Uraricoera River
The Uraricoera River (Uraricuera) is a river of Roraima state in northern Brazil. The confluence of the Uraricoera and Takutu Rivers forms the Branco River.
Basin
The river drains the Guayanan Highlands moist forests ecoregion.
Part of the r ...
s forms the
Branco River. The Takutu River's sources almost link with those of the
Essequibo River
The Essequibo River ( Spanish: ''Río Esequibo'' originally called by Alonso de Ojeda ''Río Dulce'') is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana b ...
; in the rainy season, flooding links the Takutu to the
Rupununi River
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 '' ...
, a tributary of the Essequibo.
The
Takutu River Bridge
The Takutu River Bridge ( pt, Ponte do Rio Tacutu) is a bridge across the Takutu River, linking Lethem in Guyana to Bonfim in Brazil. It was completed in 2009 and opened on 31 July 2009. Its official inauguration was on 14 September 2009, in th ...
establishes an all-weather road connection between Guyana and Brazil.
Flooding of the Takutu effects the town of
Lethem, the regional capital, and other settlements in the area such as
St. Ignatius, Tabatinga, and Culvert City. The river experiences pollution in connection with gold-mining processes.
References
*http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/guyana_rel_1991.pdf
Rivers of Roraima
Rivers of Guyana
International rivers of South America
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Brazil–Guyana border
Border rivers
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