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
Location of mouth
Location
Country	Costa 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]