Paramaribo Mouth

The Suriname River reaches the Atlantic beyond Paramaribo, passing through a low coastal plain of mangrove and mud. The Commewijne joins it near the coast, where Fort Nieuw Amsterdam guarded the approach to the colonial capital and its plantations. Offshore currents carry fine sediment northwest along the Guiana coast, forming shifting mudbanks. Tides and river flows continually alter the channels by which vessels enter the estuary.