The Yapacaní River is a river of Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, part of the Amazon River

Amazon River

The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...

 basin.. The 335 kilometres river is a tributary of the Rio Grande

Río Grande (Bolivia)

The Río Grande in Bolivia rises on the southern slope of the Sierra de Cochabamba, east of the city of Cochabamba, at . At its source it is known as the Río Rocha and crosses the Cochabamba valley basin in a westerly direction...

. The river runs northwards through the Santa Cruz Department

Santa Cruz Department

Santa Cruz, with an area of 370,621 km², is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia. In the 2001 census, it reported a population of 2,029,471. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The state is one of the wealthiest states in Bolivia with huge reserves of...

  and joins the Mamoré River.

Geography

The Yapacaní River originates in the formations of the Amboró National Park

Amboró National Park

Amboró National Park in central Bolivia is a nature reserve with over 800 species of birds, over 125 mammalian species including puma, ocelot, and the rare Spectacled Bear. Covering an area of 4,425 km² , it is protected from human settlements, hunting, mining and deforestation, though...

 and receives water from numerous rivers and tributary streams. It arises from the confluence of the Yapacaní and Surutú at 17°24′35"S 63°50′33"W. From this point the river flows northwest to its mouth in the Rio Grande at 15°58′25"S 64°31′00"W.

The river forms the border between the municipalities of San Juan

San Juan de Yapacaní

San Juan de Yapacaní is a small town in Bolivia.-References:...

 and Yapacaní

Yapacaní

Yapacaní is the largest town in the province of Ichilo in the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz. It lies on the west bank of the Yapacani River, at the mouth of the Surutú River, 100 km north-west of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the largest city in Bolivia. It is the centre of the district of...

, in Ichilo Province

Ichilo Province

Ichilo is one of the fifteen provinces of the Bolivian Santa Cruz Department and is situated in the department's north-western parts. The province was founded by a decree of 8 April 1926 and is named after Río Ichilo which is forming the province border in the West.- Location :Ignacio Warnes...

 of the Santa Cruz Department. Today, the town of La Chancadora, which is located upstream, is threatened by the continuous flooding of the river. In 2005 work began on the river channeling the Yapacaní-Surutú. The Piraí River

Pirai River

The Pirai River may refer to:* the Piray River in Bolivia* the Piraí River , a river of Paraná state in southern Brazil* the Piraí River , a river of Rio de Janeiro state in southeastern Brazil...

is a major tributary.

Economy

The river Yapacaní has economic significance because of the potential marketable fishing of some species that occur in their waters, as the .

The banks of the river have been cleared for agriculture, which has been denounced by some environmental advocacy organizations.