Subject: Subject: [Geography] Coeroeni, Corantijn Rivers and Sisa Creek
Article:

The Sisa creek area in SW Suriname covers an area of 1750 square km and was explored due to a hydro electric project and part of the Kabalebo master plan. The eastern part of the Sisa creek would have been flooded. The Sisa creek is a small tributary of the Corantijn river. The other river in this area is the Linker Kabalebo river. The western part of the Sisa creek area can be reached by a small one engine plane from Paramaribo. The recommended landing strip is the Coeroeni airstrip which is one and a half hour flying from Paramaribo. Then it will take a two days trip by dug-out canoe with outboard motor on the Coeroeni and Corantijn rivers. These rivers border Guyana (Georgetown). The accessibility of the area from the main rivers inward depends on the water level in the larger creeks. In the dry season they are innavigable and in the rainy seasons the banks are flooded thus the jungle becomes impenetrable. Thus most fieldwork must be done on foot hacking jungle trails through the rain forest. Some bamboo grows also in this area. Along the Corantijn river former Amerindian settlements can be spotted judging on the polishing grooves in the rocks. It is estimated that these settlements may date back to 1720 and earlier. It was in 1720 that an explorr Sanders travelled along the Corantijn river to look for gold and silver which Amerindians so called had found. Sanders who was attracted to this area because of that rumor did find only some kind of 'Muscovy glass'. Other explorers to this area were: 1843 Richard Schomburgk. 1871 C. Barrington Brown made the first geological observations of the area. 1910-1911 Rock samples were taken by Eilerts de Haan and Kayser. 1926 More samples were taken by Kayser during the Wilhelmina Mts expedition. 1959 The Coeroeni airstrip was completed as part of operation Grasshopper. Numerous surveys were made in the 1960s and 1970s in preparation of the Kabalebo project studies. -----




Met dank aan Albert Buys