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| Oyapock | |
|---|---|
 View of the Oyapock River from Brazil toward French Guiana | |
 Guyane Oyapock River map | |
| Location | |
| Countries | Brazil andFrance |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Tumuk Humak Mountains |
| Mouth | |
• location | Atlantic Ocean |
• coordinates | 04°14′08″N51°36′53″W / 4.23556°N 51.61472°W /4.23556; -51.61472 |
| Length | 403 km (250 mi) |
| Basin size | 30,869 km2 (11,919 mi2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Near mouth |
| • average | 1,457 m3/s (51,500 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Bridges | Oyapock River Bridge |
TheOyapock orOiapoque (/ˈɔɪ.əpɒk,ˌɔɪ.əˈpoʊki/OY-ə-pok,OY-ə-POH-kee;French:Fleuve Oyapock[flœvojapɔk];Portuguese:Rio Oiapoque[ˈʁi.uojaˈpɔki]) is a 403-kilometre (250 mi) long river inSouth America that forms most of theborder between theFrenchoverseas department ofFrench Guiana and theBrazilianstate ofAmapá.[1][2]
The Oyapock runs through theGuianan moist forests ecoregion.[3]It rises in theTumuk Humak (Portuguese:Tumucumaque) mountain range and flows into theAtlantic Ocean, where itsestuary forms a largebay bordering onCape Orange.
The mouth of the Oyapock is the northernend ofBrazil's coastline, as it is where the border between Brazil and French Guiana meets the ocean, but nearby Cape Orange, which separates the Bay of Oyapock from the Atlantic Ocean, is the northernmostpoint of the Brazilian coast. In Brazil, both the cape and the mouth of the Oyapock are often mistaken for the whole country's northernmost point (rather than just of its coastline), and in the past this information could even be found in geography schoolbooks.[4] Yet the truenorthernmost point in Brazil is actually far inland, onMonte Caburaí, in the state ofRoraima, hundreds of kilometers from the Oyapock and almost a full degree more to the north.[4]
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was said to be the first European person to see the Oiapoque River in the first years of the 16th century.[5] It has been rendered Japoc, Yapoc, Iapoco, Wiapoco, and even called the Vicente Pinzón River. Early European colonists referred to the river as theWiapoco, and it was the site of early settlements by the EnglishmanRobert Harcourt in 1608 and the DutchmanJan van Ryen in 1627. The name Oiapoque has been officially used from 1900, when a territorial dispute between Brazil andFrance was resolved throughSwiss diplomatic arbitration.
In addition to the small towns ofOiapoque (Amapá) andSaint-Georges de l'Oyapock (French Guiana), there are some small villages scattered along the bank of the Oyapock, such asCamopi andClevelândia do Norte.
TheOyapock River Bridge has been built across the river to connect the Brazilian town of Oiapoque and the French town of Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock. It is the first international land border connection of French Guiana; although completed since 2011, as of February 2017, it had remained closed to traffic due to payment delays for construction and building crews, staffing issues within the Brazilian customs facilities, plus some minor disagreements between the Brazilian and French governments.[6] The inauguration ceremony of the bridge finally took place on 18 March 2017. Starting from 08:00 on 20 March 2017, the bridge has been open to members of the public.[7]
The widespreadBrazilian Portuguese expression"do Oiapoque ao Chuí" ("from the Oyapock to theChuí [rivers]") is used to refer to the whole nation, by mentioning the waterways that mark respectively the northern and southern extremities of the Brazilian coastline (as noted above, they are often mistaken for the entire country's northern and southern extreme points). Thus, the saying is used in the same way as Americans use the expression "from coast to coast."
| International | |
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| Other | |
