Coco River

Wangki River
Río Segovia, Cape River, Yara River
Coco River is located in Central America
Coco River
Location of the mouth
Location
CountriesNicaragua and Honduras
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationSomoto Canyon, Madriz Department, Nicaragua
 • coordinates13°27′06″N 86°42′32″W / 13.45167°N 86.70889°W / 13.45167; -86.70889
 • elevation2,219 ft (676 m)
MouthCaribbean Sea
 • location
Nicaragua
 • coordinates
15°00′N 83°08′W / 15.000°N 83.133°W / 15.000; -83.133
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Length841 km (523 mi)
Basin size27,000 km2 (10,000 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • average600 m3/s (21,000 cu ft/s)

The Wangki river in Miskitu or Río Coco, in Spanish, formerly known as the Río Segovia, Cape River,[1] or Yara River,[2] is a river located on the border of northern Nicaragua and southern Honduras. It is the longest river that runs entirely within the Central American Isthmus with a total length of 841 km (523 mi).[3]

The river originates in the Somoto Canyon National Monument, near where the Pan American Highway crosses into Nicaragua, and flows through low mountainous terrain 841 kilometres (523 mi) into the Caribbean Sea at Cabo Gracias a Dios; the middle and lower reaches form the Honduras-Nicaragua border.

On September 7, 2007, major international news wires reported that the Río Coco was over 11 metres (36 ft) above normal stage, two days after Category 5 Hurricane Felix made landfall.

  1. ^ Cape River-Capua, Chest of Books website, accessed 8 March 2010.
  2. ^ Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). "Lussan, Raveneau de" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
  3. ^ Aragón R., William. "Desentrañando el Gran Cañón". La Prensa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-08-08.