Térraba River

Térraba River (Spanish: Río Grande de Térraba), in the southern Brunca region of Costa Rica, is the largest river in that country.[1]

Térraba River
Río Térraba
Térraba River
Térraba River is located in Costa Rica
Térraba River
Location of mouth
Location
CountryCosta Rica
Physical characteristics
Mouth 
  location
Pacific Ocean
  coordinates
9°01′56″N 83°37′36″W

The indigenous Boruca language name is Diquís which means "great river".[2] Its basin is 5,085 square kilometres (1,963 sq mi) and it is 160 kilometres (99 mi) long, covering ten percent of the country. It is a tributary from the confluence of the Río General and Río Coto Brus.[3] Pineapple plantations occupy 10,815 hectares (26,720 acres) in the basin, amounting to 21 percent of national production.[4] Mangrove cockles (Anadara tuberculosa and Anadara similis), known locally as piangua, are collected in the mangrove swamps and mud at the mouth of the Río Grande de Térraba.[5]

The Interamerican Highway partially follows the river course and crosses it with a bridge. Along the river lie the villages of Palmar Norte, Palmar Sur and Ciudad Cortés. The Térraba empties in the Pacific Ocean with six mouths: Mala, Brava, Chica, Zacate, Guarumal and Sierpe.[3] A nationally protected wetland, Humedal Nacional Térraba-Sierpe (Térraba-Sierpe National Wetlands) is situated here in the mangroves along the coast.[6]

A proposed project to provide renewable energy to the region, El Diquís Hydroelectric Project, was cancelled. It would have covered 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) and required the relocation of 1,500 people.[7]

References

  1. Instituto Costarricense de Turismo map Archived 2009-01-26 at the Wayback Machine, 2007. (in Spanish)
  2. American Cultures > Pre-Columbian Cultures > Intermediate > Diquís > Environment and Geography Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. Retrieved: 2012-11-05.
  3. Río Grande de Térraba Guías Costa Rica. Retrieved: 2012-11-04. (in Spanish)
  4. Caracterización Socioeconómica de la Cuenca del Río Grande de Térraba Escuela de Relaciones Internacionales, Universidad Nacional Heredia, 2010. (in Spanish)
  5. The Fisheries for Mangrove Cockles Marine Fisheries Review, 2001.
  6. "Terraba-Sierpe". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  7. Project Website. Proyecto Hidroelctrico El Diquís Archived 2011-01-28 at the Wayback Machine


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