Grade Six Social Studies
Hello Boys and Girls!
I trust that you are well. I do hope that you are paying closer attention to your school assignments and projects. You must complete all tasks given by your teacher if you are going to be successful at the National Grade Six Assessment which is fast approaching.
This week we begin a new series titled: Counties of Guyana.
Topic: Counties of Guyana Specific Learning Outcomes:
• Define the term county.
• Identify the counties of Guyana.
• Examine the main rivers in Guyana.
• Examine the history of the counties of Guyana.
What is a county?
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French comté denoting a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count or a viscount.
Let’s Identify the Counties of Guyana THREE
Guyana is divided into 1) Essequibo 2) Demerara 3) Berbice counties:
These counties were named after the three main rivers in Guyana. Each county was once a Dutch colony with its own capital.
The Essequibo River
The Essequibo River (Spanish: Río Esequibo originally called by Alonso de Ojeda Río Dulce) is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil– Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,014 kilometres (630 mi) through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean. With a total drainage basin of 156,828 square kilometres (60,552 sq mi) and an average discharge of 4,531– 5,650 cubic metres per second (160,000–199,500 cu ft/s).
The river runs through the Guianan moist forests ecoregion. The average annual rainfall in the catchment area is 2,174 mm. There are many rapids and waterfalls (e.g., Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro River) along the route of the Essequibo, and its 20-kilometre (12 mi) wide estuary is dotted with numerous small islands. It enters the Atlantic 21 kilometres (13 mi) from Georgetown, the capital city of Guyana. The river features Murrays Fall, Pot Falls, Kumaka Falls, and Waraputa Falls.
Its many tributaries include the Rupununi, Potaro, Mazaruni, Siparuni, Kiyuwini, Konawaruk and Cuyuni rivers. For over 30 kilometres (19 mi) from its mouth, the river's channel is divided by the large flat and fertile islands of Leguan, about 28 square kilometres (11 sq mi), Wakenaam, about 44 square kilometres (17 sq mi), and Hogg Island, about 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi). Fort Island is off the eastern side of Hogg Island. Fort Zeelandia is located on the island and was the seat of government of the country during the Dutch colonial era. Sloth Island is an eco-tourism island in the river.
The river has a very rich fauna. More than 300 fish species are known from the Essequibo basin, including almost 60 endemics. This may be an underestimate of the true diversity, as parts of the basin are poorly known. For example, surveys of the upper Mazaruni River found 36–39 species (variation in number due to taxonomy), of which 13–25% still were undescribed in 2013. At least 24 fish species are restricted to Mazaruni River alone.
Fact/Tip: The name "Demerara" comes from a variant of the Arawak word "Immenary" or "Dumaruni" which means "river of the letter wood" (wood of Brosimum guianense tree).
Demerara's estuary is narrow and the flowrate is rapid. This scouring action maintains a 5-to-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.
Tributaries of the Demerara River include the Haiama River, Kuruabaru River, Haiakwa Creek and Haianari Creek.
The islands Inver, Borsselen, and Biesen are found 25 to 30 kilometres (15 to 20 mi) from the mouth. Borsselen was once the location of the Dutch capital of Demerara.
Transportation and Use
The Demerara's width and depth allow oceangoing vessels up to 5,000 t to navigate up to Linden (105 km from the mouth), while smaller vessels may reach up to Malali (245 km from the mouth). Beyond Malali, numerous rapids make further upstream travel impossible.
A floating bridge, the Demerara Harbour Bridge, crosses the river 6 kilometres (4 mi) south of Georgetown from Peter's Hall, East Bank Demerara to Schoon Ord, West Bank Demerara.
A Dutch colony of the same name was situated along the river's banks. The colony founded the sugarcane industry that continues to thrive today. Bauxite is also mined around the Demerara, and Linden is a major export centre.
The Berbice River
The Berbice River, located in eastern Guyana, is one of the country's major rivers. It rises in the highlands of the Rupununi region and flows northward for 595 kilometres (370 mi) through dense forests to the coastal plain. The river's tidal limit is between 160 and 320 km (99–199 mi) from the sea.
Obstructed by shallows at its estuary, the Berbice River's mouth is the location of Crab Island, opposite the mouth of the Canje River, the Berbice's main tributary.
Quantity of water based on the streamflow of the gauging station at Itabu Falls (04'52'N0'50'13'W) is 40,800 L/min (9,000 imp gal/min; 10,800 US gal/min).
Vocabulary Building
1) Estuary: An estuary is an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean.