Refugio de Vida Silvestre Río San Juan. 08/11/01; Río San Juan, Atlántico Sur; 43,000 ha; ca.10°56'N 083°40'W. Wildlife Refuge, Biosphere Reserve. A long, slender, convoluted site that follows the course of the Río San Juan, which flows from Lake Nicarague at 32m altitude along the Costa Rican frontier 200km to the city of San Juan del Norte on the Caribbean coast, and includes the coastline to the north as well, part of the Biosphere Reserve Indio Maiz, forming one of the two most extensive biological nuclei of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. The site comprises an array of wetland types, including estuary and shallow marine waters, coastal freshwater lagoon, and intertidal marsh, as well as permanent lakes, rivers, and pools, inter alia. Nearly all of the Ramsar Criteria are met, and four species of turtles, as well as the manatee Trichechus manatus, are supported. Ramsar site no. 1138. Most recent RIS information: 2001.