The Demerara River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in eastern Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

 that rises in the central rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

s of the country and flows to the north for 346 kilometres until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. Georgetown

Georgetown, Guyana

Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...

, Guyana's largest seaport and capital, is situated on the east bank of the river's mouth. The Demerara's estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

 is narrow and the flowrate is rapid. This scouring action maintains a 5-6 metre deep direct channel to the ocean. The river's deep brown color is primarily the result of the massive quantities of silt carried from upriver by the powerful currents. So powerful are these currents, that the ocean retains the Demerara's brown color for a considerable distance out to sea.

The Demerara's width and depth allow oceangoing vessels to navigate up to Linden

Linden, Guyana

Linden is the second largest town in Guyana after Georgetown, and capital of the Upper Demerara-Berbice region, located at , altitude 48 metres . It was declared a town in 1970, and includes the communities of MacKenzie and Wismar. It lies on the Demerara River and has a population of roughly...

 (105 km from the mouth), while smaller vessels may reach up to Malali (245 km from the mouth). Beyond Malali, numerous rapid

Rapid

A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the...

s make further upstream travel impossible.

A floating bridge, the Demerara Harbour Bridge

Demerara Harbour Bridge

The Demerara Harbour Bridge is a long floating toll bridge. It was commissioned on 2 July 1978. The bridge crosses the Demerara River south of the Guyanese capital Georgetown, from Peter's Hall, East Bank Demerara to Schoon Ord, West Bank Demerara. There is a pedestrian footwalk. A raised...

, crosses the river 4 miles south of Georgetown from Peter's Hall, East Bank Demerara to Schoon Ord, West Bank Demerara.

Tributaries of the Demerara River include the Haiama River

Haiama River

The Haiama River is a west bank tributary of the Demerara River in northern Guyana. It enters the Demerara River 280 yards from the mouth....

, Kuruabaru River

Kuruabaru River

The Kuruabaru River is an east bank tributary of the Demerara River in northern Guyana. It enters the Demerara River 140 miles from its mouth....

, Haiakwa Creek

Haiakwa Creek

Haiakwa Creek is an east bank tributary of the Demerara River in northern Guyana. It enters the Demerara River 27 miles upstream of Linden....

 and Haianari Creek

Haianari Creek

Haianari Creek is a west bank tributary of the Demerara River in northern Guyana. It enters the Demerara River 90 miles upstream of the Demerara's mouth....

.

The islands Inver, Borselem, and Biesen are found 15 to 20 miles from the mouth. Borselem was once the location of the Dutch capital of Demerara

Demerara

Demerara was a region in South America in what is now Guyana that was colonised by the Dutch in 1611. The British invaded and captured the area in 1796...

.

A Dutch colony

Dutch colonization of the Americas

Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...

 of the same name (see Demerara

Demerara

Demerara was a region in South America in what is now Guyana that was colonised by the Dutch in 1611. The British invaded and captured the area in 1796...

) was situated along the river's banks. The colony founded the sugarcane

Sugarcane

Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

 industry that continues to thrive today. Sugar from this industry is used to make the widely exported El Dorado Rum

El Dorado Rum

El Dorado Rum is a Rum brand produced by Demerara Distillers in Guyana.-Age statement:The flavours of the oak wood from the barrels and the complexities of the interaction between wood and spirit are greatly enhanced by the tropical climate of Guyana...

 http://www.eldorado-rum.com/. Bauxite

Bauxite

Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...

 is also mined around the Demerara, and Linden is a major export

Export

The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...

centre.