Rio Cobre

Flat Bridge over the Rio Cobre in February 2009

The, also known as Rio Cobre Copper River, is a river in Jamaica. It passes through the Parish Saint Catherine and has a length of 50.9 km. The Rio Cobre has a great economic significance. He watered a cultivation area of ​​73 square kilometers and provides a Spanish Town with electricity.

Course

The exact location source is unclear. The river rises near the town of Linstead. Most maps describe the headwaters as multiple, seasonal dry unnamed tributaries name. The highest point of the Rio Cobre is about 530 m above sea level ( 1,750 feet). After passing the city of Spanish Town, the Rio Cobre flows near Portmore, which is separated by the river from the capital, Kingston, in the Caribbean Sea.

Attractions

Perhaps sehenswürdigste place is running a deep gorge through which the Rio Cobre. It lies between the North Bog Walk and Spanish Town.

During the course along Highway A1 crosses the Rio Cobre this. As a transfer, the so-called flat bridge, which was built in 1724 by the Englishman Edward Long serves. The single-track structure is considered the first bridge of Jamaica. Between 1881 and 1915 the original wooden floor of the bridge was replaced by steel beams and parts of the nearby May Pen Bridge, which was previously demolished. In the 1930s, the previously unsecured bridge got a metal guardrail and later of wood, but each fell victim to strong storms. Currently, the bridge is secured only by temporarily laid stones. For a long time there was no system for biking the bridge so that it regularly came to disputes between motorists and serious accidents resulting in death. In the 1990s, a traffic light system has been installed.

The Rio Cobre is dammed by the Rio Cobre Dam near the town of Angels. The city is located in a northern neighborhood of Spanish Town. The dam was built in the 18th century.