Commewijne River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in northern Suriname

Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...

 (estuary located at around 5.9°N 55.0833333°W).

It originates in the hills of the Commewijne District

Commewijne District

Commewijne is a district of Suriname, located on the right bank of the Suriname River. Commewijne's capital city is Nieuw Amsterdam. Alliance is another major town.The district has a population of 25,200 and an area of 2,353 km²....

 and flows northwards until it receives the meandering Cottica River

Cottica River

Cottica River is a river in Suriname, located at around .It originates in the hills surrounding town of Moengo and flows westwards and enters the Commewijne River.It has a river basin of 2.900 km²....

 from the right and then runs westward until it unites with the south-north running Suriname River

Suriname River

The Suriname River is 480 km long and flows through the country Suriname. Its sources are located in the Guiana Highlands on the border between the Wilhelmina Mountains and the Eilerts de Haan Mountains...

 at Nieuw Amsterdam. Here, after some 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) it enters the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. It has a river basin of 6600 square kilometres (2,548.3 sq mi).

The Commewijne was important historically for navigation: huge barges with bauxite

Bauxite

Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...

 were transported from Moengo

Moengo

Moengo is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border town Albina. In former times it was a major centre for the mining and storage of bauxite...

 in the east to the confluence with the Surinam river and from there traveled southward via Paramaribo

Paramaribo

Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 250,000 people, more than half of Suriname's population...

 to the Paranam

Paranam

Paranam is a town in the Para District, Suriname. It is located at around ....

 refinery. Floats with tropical hardwood were also brought to Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. Nowadaystoday, the Moengo bauxite is depleted and the hardwood is mostly transported by trucks. There remains quite some boat trafficking with local residents and tourists.

The Commewijne River was known in the 16th and 17th centuries as "Camaiwini" and "Cammawini". Today's name "Commewijne" is probably derived from Arawak

Arawak language

Arawak is the eponymous language of the Arawakan language family. The term is often used to cover the closely related Taino language of the Caribbean islands. The ethnonym Lokono may be used more specifically....

 words "kama" (tapir

Tapir

A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...

) and "wini" (water/river).