The Courantyne/Corentyne/Corantijn River is a river in northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

and Guyana. It is the longest

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

in the country and creates the border between Suriname and the

East Berbice-Corentyne East Berbice-Corentyne (Region 6) is one of ten regions in Guyana covering the whole of the east of the country. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the Nickerie District and Sipaliwini District of Suriname to the east, Brazil to the sou ...

region of Guyana. Its tributaries include Kutari River,

Coeroeni River The Coeroeni River is a river in South America. It arises in the Tumuc-Humac Mountains, which forms the drainage divide between Pará, Brazil, and Suriname; from there it flows northward. The river is fed by the Aramatau, Kutari River, Kutari and ...

, New River, and Zombie Creek. In Suriname; Kabalebo River,

Lucie River Lucie River is a river of Suriname. It feeds into the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Courantyne River. The river was discovered and named by Eilerts de Haan in 1908. Eilerts de Haan is buried near the river. See also *List of rivers of Suriname ...

Sipaliwini River Sipaliwini River is a river of Suriname, the main source of the Courantyne River. It gives its name to the village of Sipaliwini Savanna and to the Sipaliwini District. It flows through the village of Kwamalasamutu. The name translates to thornba ...

, Kutari River.

Course

The river runs through the Guianan moist forests ecoregion. It originates in the Acarai Mountains and flows northward via the Boven (Upper) Courantyne which is the source river for approximately between Guyana and Suriname, emptying into the

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#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

near

Corriverton Corriverton is the most easterly town in Guyana. It lies at the mouth of the Corentyne River, opposite Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname, to which it is linked by ferry from South Drain. Corriverton is located about 195 mi/313 km from George ...

, Guyana and

Nieuw Nickerie Nieuw Nickerie. Retrieved 17 November 2009. is the third largest city in Suriname with a population estimated at . It is the capital city of the Nickerie district, and the terminus of the East-West Link. Nieuw Nickerie lies on the mouth of the ...

, Suriname. A ferry service operates between these two towns. Small ocean-going vessels are able to navigate the river for about to

Apura, Suriname Apoera, also Apura, is a town in western Suriname. The village has a population of 777 people as of 2020. It is the final destination of the Southern East-West Link. north-west on the other side of the Courantyne River lies the Guyanese villag ...

Waterfalls

The

Wonotobo Falls The Wonotobo Falls ( Dutch: ''Wonotobovallen'') are a series of waterfalls in the Courantyne River in Sipaliwini District, Suriname near the border with Guyana. The waterfalls are not navigable. A pre-Columbian petroglyph site is located near t ...

, Frederik Willem IV (Anora) Falls, and the King Edward VI Falls are on the Courantyne River. Other falls include the Barrington Brown Falls, the Drios Falls and the Maopityan Falls.

Territorial dispute

Between the upper reaches of the Courantyne, the Upper Courantyne, the Coeroeni and the Koetari rivers lay the controversial

Tigri Area The Tigri Area ( nl, Tigri-gebied) is a wooded area that has been disputed by Guyana and Suriname since around 1840. It involves the area between the Upper Corentyne River (also called the New River), the Coeroeni River, and the Kutari River. ...

claimed by both Suriname and Guyana. The Guyanese–Surinamese border is the Guyanese river bank (the west bank of the river), Suriname regarded the left bank of the Courantyne as a border, but Guyana disputes this and viewed the center of the river as a frontier, based on the

Thalweg Doctrine In geography and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse. Under international law, a thalweg is the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the bound ...

. This conflict, which has been fueled since the colonial era, was solved in 2007 by a verdict by the Hague Arbitration Court, which settles the border between Guyana and Suriname on the left bank of the river, and the river water body belonging to Suriname. The tribunal that defined the maritime boundary between Suriname and Guyana in 2007 confirmed Surinamese sovereignty over the full width of the Courantyne River.Award of the Tribunal
Suriname has control over all ship traffic from the mouth of the Courantyne.

References

{{reflist Rivers of the Tigri Area Rivers of Suriname Rivers of Guyana Guyana–Suriname border International rivers of South America Nickerie District Border rivers