Térraba River


Térraba River, in the southern Brunca region of Costa Rica, is the largest river in that country.
The indigenous Boruca language name is Diquís which means "great river". Its basin is and it is long, covering ten percent of the country. It is a tributary from the confluence of the Río General and Río Coto Brus. Pineapple plantations occupy in the basin, amounting to 21 percent of national production. Mangrove cockles, known locally as piangua, are collected in the mangrove swamps and mud at the mouth of the Río Grande de Térraba.
The Interamerican Highway partially follows the river course and crosses it with a bridge. Along the river lie the villages of Palmar Norte, Palmar Sur and Ciudad Cortés. The Térraba empties in the Pacific Ocean with six mouths: Mala, Brava, Chica, Zacate, Guarumal and Sierpe. A nationally protected wetland, Humedal Nacional Térraba-Sierpe is situated here in the mangroves along the coast.
A proposed project to provide renewable energy to the region, El Diquís Hydroelectric Project, was cancelled. It would have covered and required the relocation of 1,500 people.