San Juan River

The San Juan River is a big river which serves as part of the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. But there is also a downside to having a border that is a river because there have been many different boundary disputes between the two countries regarding the river. This is because of the Cañas-Jerez Treaty of 1858, which was signed by both countries, which states that the river belonged to Nicaragua but Costa Rica could still use it for commercial purposes. But eventually between the 19th and 20th century, Costa Rica started to think the river should belong to them, so there were alterations to the treaty and now both countries have settled the dispute. The river starts at the southeastern end of Nicaragua in the city of San Carlos and ends in the Caribbean Sea. On its 124 mile journey, it receives the San Carlos and the Sarapiquí rivers. It ends up branching off into three rivers, the Juanillo Menor, the Colorado River, and the San Juan Proper. There are many different rapids all throughout the river near the villages of Toro, El Castillo, and Machuca. The San Juan River is important to not only Nicaragua but also Costa Rica because of it being a border but also its wildlife and plants.