The majority of rivers in Nicaragua are located on the Caribbean coast and empty out into the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. The Río San Juan is one of the most important rivers in Nicaragua, it borders Costa Rica and connects the Caribbean Sea to

Lake Cocibolca Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the ...

. The

Nicaragua Canal The Nicaraguan Canal ( es, Canal de Nicaragua), formally the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project (also referred to as the Nicaragua Grand Canal, or the Grand Interoceanic Canal) was a proposed shipping route through Nicaragua to connect th ...

was a proposed project for an inter-Oceanic

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

to transport cargo ships coming in from the Pacific to the Caribbean, or vice versa, instead of sailing down around

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

. As of 2007 the project is still being considered. The Río Grande and its tributaries are the most extensive river system, while the Río Escondido provides a major transportation route between the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. The Río Coco, locally known as the Wanks, runs along the border with Honduras and is the longest river in Central America. Other important rivers include Río Tipitapa, which links Lake Cocibolca to

Lake Managua Lake Managua ( es, Lago de Managua, ), also known as Lake Xolotlán (), is a lake in Nicaragua. At 1,042 km², it is approximately long and wide. Similarly to the name of Lake Nicaragua, its other name comes from the Nahuatl language, possi ...

and covers 1,050 km² (405 sq mi).

List of rivers in Nicaragua

* Río Amaka * Río Carepicha * Río Bambana * Río Bocay * Río Coco – known locally as the Wanks, borders Honduras and is the longest river in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. * Río Escondido *

Río Grande de Matagalpa Río Grande de Matagalpa (, ''Awaltara'' in Miskito, ''Ucumulalí'' in Matagalpa) is a river of Nicaragua. Running from its source near Matagalpa to the Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè ...

* Río San Juan – borders Costa Rica * Río Kukalaya * Río Kurinwás * Río Mi * Río Siquia * Río Tipitapa * Río Tuma * Río Wawa * River NÖamani

By drainage basin

This list is arranged by

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Coco River River Wangki in Miskitu or Río Coco, in Spanish, formerly known as the Río Segovia, Cape River, or Yara River, is a river located on the border of northern Nicaragua and southern Honduras. It is the longest river that runs entirely within the Ce ...

(Segovia River) (Wanki River) ** Waspuk River ** Lakus River ** Bocay River *** Amaka River ** El Jicaro River ** Estili River * Ulang River * Wawa River (Huahua River) ** Likus River * Kukalaya River * Layasiksa River * Prinzapolka River ** Bambana River ** Yaoya River ** Uli River ** Wani River *

Tuma River The Tuma River is a river located in Nicaragua. The length of the Tuma is . The river, a left tributary of the Río Grande de Matagalpa, is located in the Jinotega and Matagalpa Departments, North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, and South Cari ...

*** Iyás River *** Yaosca River ** Murra River ** Olama River * Kurinwás River * Wawasang River * Escondido River **

Kama River The Kama (russian: Ка́ма, ; tt-Cyrl, Чулман, ''Çulman''; udm, Кам) is a long«Река � ...

Mahogany River Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Uni ...

** Rama River ***

Plata River Plata may refer to: * Joao Plata (born 1992), an Ecuadorian football player * Juan Carlos Plata (born 1971), a Guatemalan retired football player * Plata, Texas, an unincorporated community in Presidio County, Texas, United States * La Plata, the ...

Mico River People * Mićo Janić (born 1979), Croatian sprint canoer * Mićo Ljubibratić (1839–1889), Serbian revolutionary * Mico Palanca (1978–2019), Filipino actor * Mićo Smiljanić (born 1974), Serbian/Montenegrin footballer * Mićo Stanišić (born ...

** Siquia River * Kukra River * Punta Gorda River * Maíz River *

Indio River The Indio River ( es, Río Indio) is a river of Vega Baja and Morovis in Puerto Rico. Indio River has mogotes on either side. Indio River meets Cibuco River. The river is quick to rise and causes flooding when there is heavy rain. Paso del In ...

* San Juan River ** Sábalos River **

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the t ...

***

Tule River The Tule River, also called Rio de San Pedro or Rio San Pedro, is a river in Tulare County in the U.S. state of California. The river originates in the Sierra Nevada east of Porterville and consists of three forks, North, Middle and South. The ...

*** Canastro River *** Tepenaguasapa River *** Oyate River *** Ojocuapa River **** Acoyapa River *** Mayales River **** Cuisalá River *** Malacatoya River ***

Tipitapa River The Tipitapa River (Río Tipitapa) is a short river in Nicaragua that connects Lake Managua to Lake Nicaragua. Its flow is seasonally variable and when Lake Managua, which is situated about ten meters higher than Lake Nicaragua,http://www.ecured.cu ...

****

***** Viejo River (Grande River) ***** Sinecapa River *** Ochomogo River *** Sapoá River *** Niño River (Pizote River) *** Papaturro River *** Zapote River *** Frío River

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

Rio Brito Rio Brito or Brito River is a river in the southwestern part of Nicaragua that drains into the Pacific Ocean near Punta Brito, a promontory. The river valley was planned to be transformed by the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project to serve as ...

* Río Negro * Estero Real River ** Tecomapa River * Tamarindo River * Tecolapa River * Casares River *

Escalante River The Escalante River is a tributary of the Colorado River. It is formed by the confluence of Upper Valley and Birch Creeks near the town of Escalante in south-central Utah, and from there flows southeast for approximately before joining Lake P ...

References

*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993. * CIA map, 1997.
UN map
2004.
Weller Cartographic Services map
1998.

2001. (in Spanish) *,

GEOnet Names Server The GEOnet Names Server (GNS), sometimes also referred to in official documentation as Geographic Names Data or geonames in domain and email addresses, is a service that provides access to the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency ...

{{North America topic, List of rivers of *

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

Rivers

List of rivers in Nicaragua

By drainage basin

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

See also

References