Ozama River

{{More citations needed|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox river | name = Ozama | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology =  | image = File:Aerial view SDE & Fortaleza Ozama CCSD 09 2019 0078.jpg | image_caption = Ozama River in [[Santo Domingo]] | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption=  | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = [[Dominican Republic]] | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 =  | length_km = 148 | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max =  | source1 = | source1_location = Loma Siete Cabezas, Sierra de Yamasá, [[Dominican Republic]] | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = | mouth = | mouth_location = [[Caribbean Sea]], [[Dominican Republic]] | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = {{convert|0|m|abbr=on}} | progression = | river_system = | basin_size_km2 = 2685 | tributaries_left = Savita, Yabacao | tributaries_right = La Isabela River | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = }}

The '''Ozama River''' ({{Langx|es|Río Ozama}}) is a river in the [[Dominican Republic]]. It rises in the Loma Siete Cabezas mountain in the [[Sierra de Yamasá]] mountain range, close to the town of [[Villa Altagracia]].

==History== In 1498, [[Bartolome Colon]] had a fort built on the Ozama River delta, which would later become the first permanent European settlement in the [[New World]] ([[Santo Domingo]]). The [[estuary]] at that time, "teemed with fish and where the Indians raised cassava and yams," according to Floyd.<ref name="Floyd">{{cite book|last1=Floyd|first1=Troy|title=The Columbus Dynasty in the Caribbean, 1492–1526|date=1973|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|location=Albuquerque|pages=34}}</ref>

==Course== [[File:Dominican Republic Port.jpg|thumb|left|Port in Ozama river.]] The river flows {{convert|148|km|sp=us}} before emptying into the [[Caribbean Sea]]. At the end of the journey it bisects the capital, [[Santo Domingo]], into eastern and western halves. The three main [[tributary|tributaries]] of the Ozama are the [[Isabela River]], the [[Sabita River]] and the [[Yabacao River]].

The Ozama's basin is the fourth largest in the Dominican Republic. The river has several tributaries, with a combined area of {{convert|2706|km2|sp=us}}. The river basin has an annual precipitation of {{Convert|1400|mm|in|abbr=on}} to {{convert|2250|mm|abbr=on}} per year.<ref name=Ozama>{{cite web|title=Environment Master Plan aims to recover Ozama River basin|url=http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/economy/2013/12/9/49902/Environment-Master-Plan-aims-to-recover-Ozama-River-basin|publisher=Dominican Today|accessdate=19 February 2014|archive-date=25 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225085252/http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/economy/2013/12/9/49902/Environment-Master-Plan-aims-to-recover-Ozama-River-basin|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mipais.jmarcano.com/geografia/rios/distritos.html#zona2|title=Distritos hidrogeográficos de la República Dominicana|last=|first=|date=|website=mipais.jmarcano.com|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2018-12-26}}</ref>

==Pollution== The Ozama River is heavily polluted. It is constantly affected by the slums on its shores and the factories that dump their waste into it. It is one of the main causes of pollution on the coastline of Santo Domingo.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://dominicantoday.com/dr/tourism/2017/02/09/recovering-santo-domingos-rivers/|title=Recovering Santo Domingo's rivers|work=DominicanToday|access-date=2017-10-02|language=es-ES}}</ref> In August 2020, [[The Ocean Cleanup]] organization deployed an Interceptor Original, one of their solar-powered, automated systems, to help combat the flow of plastics and trash into the Caribbean Sea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/interceptor-004-the-first-in-the-carribean/|title=Interceptor 004: The First in the Caribbean|website=www.theoceancleanup.com|date=28 May 2021 }}</ref>

==See also== *[[Port of Santo Domingo]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozama River}} [[Category:Rivers of the Dominican Republic]] [[Category:Geography of Santo Domingo]] [[Category:Geography of Santo Domingo Province]]