River · Guyana
Essequibo
The Essequibo is by far the longest river of Guyana and one of the biggest in northern South America. It crosses rainforest from south to north and reaches the Atlantic Ocean near Georgetown.
Picture credit: Dan Sloan (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Dan Lundberg (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Essequibo?
The river starts here: Acarai Mountains in southern Guyana.
It ends in the Atlantic Ocean at Georgetown.
Countries on the river: Guyana.
The story behind it
The Essequibo begins in lonely hills near the Brazilian border and then runs through rainforest for almost its whole journey. Its water is dark, the colour of strong tea, because leaves rot slowly in the shade. Giant otters, as long as a grown-up is tall, whistle and play in the side channels; black caimans wait in the shallows, and arapaima, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, rise to gulp air. Rapids and waterfalls block long stretches, so boats must be unloaded and dragged past them. Gold and diamond diggers work along the banks, and their muddy pits worry people who live downstream. Near the sea the river breaks into channels around flat, green islands where farmers grow rice and coconuts. Small ferries link the villages there.
Questions children ask
How long is the Essequibo?
The Essequibo is about 1 014 km long. The whole course lies in Guyana, so it is the longest river of the country by a wide margin.
Which country does the Essequibo flow through?
Only through Guyana. It rises in the Acarai Mountains in the far south and flows north through rainforest to the coast.
Where does the Essequibo flow into?
It flows into the Atlantic Ocean west of Georgetown, the capital. Its mouth is very wide and holds several inhabited islands.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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