Lethem is a town in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

’s south, located in the

Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Upper Takutu-Upper Esequibo (Region 9) is a Regions of Guyana, region of Guyana. It borders the region of Potaro-Siparuni to the north, the region of East Berbice-Corentyne to the east and Brazil to the south and west. It contains the town of Let ...

region. It is the regional capital of Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo. It is named after Sir Gordon James Lethem, who was the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

from 1941 to 12 April 1947. The city is populated by 1,702 inhabitants as of 2012. Lethem has several commercial establishments for

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

bicycles A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...

shirts A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. ...

and other items; they are especially frequented by Brazilians who usually take

goods In economics, goods are anything that is good, usually in the sense that it provides welfare or utility to someone. Alan V. Deardorff, 2006. ''Terms Of Trade: Glossary of International Economics'', World Scientific. Online version: Deardorffs ...

to Boa Vista,

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

Pacaraima Pacaraima () is a municipality located in the northwest of the state of Roraima in Brazil. It is second most northern municipality in Brazil, behind Uiramutã. Located here within Indigenous Land San Marcos is a major indigenous artifact. Ped ...

and

Santa Elena de Uairén Santa Elena de Uairén () is a small Venezuelan city (29,795 inhabitants in 2006) in the state of Bolívar State (Venezuela), Bolívar near the border with Brazil and Guyana. It was founded by Lucas Fernández Peña in 1923. The city's name origin ...

. The annual

Rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

weekend is the city's main event.

Environment and economy

Lethem is part of the Guyanese

Rupununi savannah The Rupununi savannah is a savanna plain in Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. It is part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. Description The Rupununi Sav ...

where there are many ''vaqueiros'' (as spoken in the Portuguese language), or

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

s, and ranches. Local flora/fauna includes various types of

cashew Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...

trees, both the fruit and nut varieties;

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

trees and

Coconut trees The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

are also common. There is a cashew processing plant in St. Ignatius, one of the communities that are a part of Lethem. There is also Culvert City, and New Culvert City, and there are several retail establishments throughout the township of Lethem. The Guyanese Dollar and, the Brazilian Reals, and in some stores, even U.S. currency is now accepted by merchants. The Guyanese and Brazilian governments opened a bridge in 2009 over the Takatu river just north of Lethem. It cost US$5 million and was paid for by Brazil. The bridge links northern Brazil to the roads leading to the Atlantic coastal port of Georgetown, Guyana's capital, which is about 423 kilometers (263 miles) to the north. Water is often drawn from hand dug wells although there is a community water supply, though it is slightly salted. Bottled, filtered water is common and easily available in stores, even in 5-gallon containers. The area's other economic activities are plant and mineral extraction, and tourism. There is a rodeo event during Easter weekend, beginning on Saturday evening, at the Triple R Ranch, with many activities, including bull riding, "wild cow milking", greased pig competition, horse racing, horse rodeo (both bareback and with saddle) for men or women, and for cowgirls, "barrel" horse races. Ample fresh food is generally available, such as chicken- or pork-on-a-stick, sun-back beef, hot dogs. There are also games, contests and entertainment, including a rope pull between vaqueros, and then vaqueras from Georgetown, competing with area Amerindians.

Airport

Lethem has an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

(IATA Code: LTM) that connects it to the capital, Georgetown with scheduled air service most weekdays. The airport has a single, 6,194 foot (1,888 meter) paved runway with instrument markings, but no lighting. The runway is oriented at 07/25. The approach to 07 is often flown in Brazilian airspace which begins less than 1 km from the threshold. Scheduled service is provided by Trans Guyana Airways, twice a day, via a twin engine, as well as by Air Services LTD. Persons traveling by air to Lethem should know that there are strict weight restrictions for luggage. Weight, depending on booking, could be restricted to less than 20 pounds. At present, all luggage is weighed when flying to or from Lethem, and there is a small charge per kilo of weight. The airport office is located just south of the western end of the runway.

Geography

Lethem lies on the

Takutu River The Takutu River (Takatu River, Tacutu River) is a river in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana and Roraima in Brazil. It forms part of the boundary between the two countries. The confluence of the Takutu and Uraricoera Rivers forms ...

, which forms the border with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, opposite the Brazilian town of Bonfim. Lethem is the capital of Region 9 and is a hub linking many of the surrounding villages to Georgetown. The

Takutu River Bridge The Takutu River Bridge () 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 the presence of leaders ...

over the

was completed in 2009 It cost US$5 million and was paid for by Brazil. and is the only road link between the two countries. The newly built bridge is expected to bring Brazilian goods to the Georgetown harbor which would be faster than shipping through Brazilian ports. The town is approximately above sea level.

Demographics

The population of Guyana is varied and includes the native

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

people who come from 9 original tribes in the savannahs. There is some

Afro-Guyanese Afro-Guyanese, also known as Black Guyanese, are generally descended from the enslaved African people brought to Guyana from the coast of West Africa to work on sugar plantations during the era of the Atlantic slave trade. Coming from a wide arr ...

and

Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Guyanese Indians, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, a ...

as well. Few white people of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

heritage live in Guyana and most are there visiting for scientific research in the savannahs or rain forest or visiting on Christian missionary campaigns. The language is an English-based Caribbean creole. Portuguese is also spoken, mainly by Brazilian immigrants, in addition to the many dialects of the Amerindian tribes. According to the 2002 population census, it had 1,178 inhabitants. Occupation of the populationData from the 2002 census
Town 47

Climate

Lethem has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(Aw) with moderate to little rainfall from September to April and heavy to very heavy rainfall from May to August.

References

External links

Looking south
- January 11, 2007 - The Economist

- February 13, 2009 - Caribbean Net News *http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/guyana_rel_1991.pdf {{Settlements in Guyana, state=expanded Populated places in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Brazil–Guyana border crossings