Potaro River

The Potaro River is a river in Guyana that runs from Mount Ayanganna area of the Pakaraima Mountains for approximately 255 km (158 mi) before flowing into the Essequibo River, Guyana's largest river. The renowned Kaieteur Falls is on the Potaro.

View of Potaro River at Pamela Landing
Potaro River
Kaieteur Falls in Potaro River.
Location
CountryGuyana
ProvincePotaro-Siparuni
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationMount Ayanganna
 • elevation6,690 ft (2,040 m)
MouthEssequibo River
Length255 km (158 mi)
Basin size9,800 km2 (3,800 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • average28,000 cu ft/s (790 m3/s)

Features

Nine waterfalls are found on the Potaro River, most notable being Kaieteur Falls and Tumatumari Falls. Below Kaieteur Falls lie Amatuk Falls[1] and Waratuk Falls.

A 1930 Suspension bridge, the Garraway Stream Bridge crosses the river. As well, 'Two Islands' is found on the Potaro River.

Minerals
A gold dredger (known locally as a "missile") on the Potaro River

Placer gold and diamonds are extracted from the river in this mineral-rich area. Many thousands of ounces of placer gold have been recovered from the area's stream gravels, residual placers and saprolites.

In the first half of the 20th century, small-scale artisanal miners, known as pork-knockers, recovered significant quantities of gem-quality diamonds from the area's rivers and streams. In fact, the two largest gem-quality diamonds recovered in Guyana to date – 56.75 carats (11.35 g) from Little Uewang River and 25.67 carats (5.134 g) from Maple Creek – were recovered in the Potaro area.

Illegal dredging is a constant issue, and the remoteness makes monitoring difficult.[2]

The mineral Potarite is named for the river where it was first discovered by Sir John B. Harrison.[3]

Settlements
Kaieteur Falls September 2007

Villages along the Potaro include Micobie, Tumatumari,[4] Chenapau (south of Kaieteur Falls), and Menzies Landing, a 20-minute walk upriver from Kaieteur Falls, is the main staging area for up river travel. Up river from the falls, the Potaro Plateau stretches out to the distant escarpment of the Pakaraima Mountains.

In the mid-1950s, the first hydropower plant was built at the Tumatumari falls by British Guiana Consolidated Goldfields Limited. Its purpose was to power the dredges of their gold mining operations, however a prolonged workers' strike led to closure. In 1976 the Guyana National Service put one of the turbines to use for supplying power to its administrative centre until 1987.[5]

Potaro Landing

The Potaro River is navigable up to Potaro Landing. Further upstream, rapids and waterfalls make travel by boat impossible.[6] In 1933, the Denham Suspension Bridge opened near Potaro Landing to shorten the access to the gold fields of the interior.[7][8] There was a daily steamer service from Tumatumari Landing to Potaro Landing to transport passenger and freight to the interior.[9]

The population of Potaro Landing and surrounding area was 112 people in 2012.[10] Potaro Landing is located at 5.3565°N 59.1185°W / 5.3565; -59.1185

See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Potaro River.
  1. Geologist, British Guiana Government (1900). Report on the Geology of the Essequibo, Potaro, Konawaruk and Demerara Rivers. C.K. Jardine, printer to the government of British Guiana. p. 56.
  2. "Dredges continue to defy cease order in Potaro area". Stabroek News. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  3. Spencer, L. J. (14 March 2018). "Potarite, a new mineral discovered by the late Sir John Harrison in British Guiana". Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society. 21 (120): 397–406. doi:10.1180/minmag.1928.021.120.02. ISSN 0369-0148.
  4. "Micobie". Stabroek News. 2020-01-12. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  5. "Environmental Authorisation sought for rehab of Tumatumari hydro plant". Stabroek News. 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  6. W.J.P. Benson (1914). The West Indies & British Guiana. p. 31. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  7. "Denham Suspension Bridge". National Trust of Guyana. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  8. "Bridges". Guyana Times International. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  9. Dmitri Allicock (19 June 2011). "Memory lane". Stabroek News. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  10. "2012 Population by Village". Statistics Guyana. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

5°21′48″N 58°54′24″W

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