The Sarapiquí River, or Rio Sarapiquí, in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the San Juan River and forms the eastern border of Sarapiquí Canton. The area around the river is mostly lowlands

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

, having lush vegetation with a large variety of plant, animal and insect life. This river is navigable and is a local trading artery, and also supports fishing and tourism activity. The river, which was previously called 'Siripiqui', is prone to flooding. Around the river are plantations of coffee, sugar cane, bananas and cocoa trees. The 2009 Costa Rica earthquake near

Cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are ...

greatly affected the Sarapiqui River. Since the

privatisation Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

of electricity production in the country, the river has seen a number of

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

s being built along the watercourse. In 2012, corruption linked to the hydroelectric dams caused widespread outrage. The river is considered a national monument because of the vital service it provided in transporting arms, goods and soldiers in the 1856 war against the filibusters.

References

Rivers of Costa Rica Geography of Heredia Province {{CostaRica-river-stub