River · Vanuatu
Sarakata
The Sarakata is the best known river of Vanuatu and flows on the island of Espiritu Santo. It comes down from the rainy mountains and ends in Velit Bay, just west of the town of Luganville.
Where is the Sarakata?
The river starts here: Mountains of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.
It ends in the Velit Bay west of Luganville.
Countries on the river: Vanuatu.
The story behind it
Espiritu Santo is a green island where warm rain falls almost every day, and the Sarakata carries that rain back to the sea. In the hills the water is clear and cool, and it slides over smooth stones under tall trees where flying foxes hang upside down. Near Luganville a small power station uses the current to light the town, so the river belongs to daily life. Families wash clothes at the bank, children jump from low rocks, and people plant taro and coconut palms in the fertile soil beside the water. When a cyclone crosses the island, the calm river can swell in a single night and flood the gardens near its mouth. Nobody publishes a reliable length for the Sarakata, so its exact size on the map remains an open question.
Questions children ask
How long is the Sarakata?
There is no reliable measurement for the Sarakata. Like all rivers of Vanuatu it is short, because the island is not wide. Its water travels from the mountains to the coast in a single day.
Which country does the Sarakata flow through?
The Sarakata belongs to Vanuatu, an island country in the Pacific Ocean. It stays on Espiritu Santo, the largest island of the group. No other country shares this river.
Where does the Sarakata flow into?
The Sarakata flows into Velit Bay, a little west of Luganville. The bay opens towards the Pacific Ocean and has calm, clear water. Coconut palms grow right down to the shore there.
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.
Last checked: