Longest River in the Caribbean Region

The Caribbean Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean; it does not contain major rivers within its basin. The largest rivers draining into the Caribbean are:

• Magdalena River (Colombia) – 1,528 km, largest discharge.
• Coco River (Honduras/Nicaragua) – 750 km, forms border.
• San Juan River (Nicaragua/Costa Rica) – 192 km, drains Lake Nicaragua.
• Motagua River (Guatemala) – 486 km.
• Ulúa River (Honduras) – 400 km.

Caribbean islands have short, steep streams (e.g., Yaque del Norte in Dominican Republic, 298 km; Cauto in Cuba, 370 km). No river originates and terminates within the Caribbean Sea itself.