PATUCA RIVER

Spanish Ro Patuca, river in northeastern Honduras, formed southeast of Juticalpa by the merger of the Guayape and Guayambre rivers. It flows northeastward for approximately 200 miles (320 km), emerging from the highlands and crossing the Mosquito Coast to empty into the Caribbean Sea at Patuca Point. Near the river's mouth the Tom-Tom Creek branches to empty into Brus Lagoon. The course of the Patuca is interrupted by rapids in several places, most notably Portal del Infierno (gate of hell). Its navigable lower course is used to float logs cut from the dense tropical rain forests through which it flows, and it serves as the main transport and communications artery for the isolated regions around its lower course.