river forming the boundary between French Guiana and Suriname (formerly Dutch Guiana), in South America. It rises on the northern slopes of the Tumuc-Humac Mountains, near the Brazilian border, and descends generally northward through dense tropical rain forests, to enter the Atlantic Ocean at Point Galibi, Suriname, about 19 miles (30 km) below the river ports of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana, and Albina, Suriname. For much of its 450-mile (725-kilometre) length the river divides French Guiana on the east from Suriname on the west. Its upper course is known as the Litani in Suriname, or Itany in French Guiana; its middle course, along which there is placer gold mining, is called the Lawa, or Aoua. Shallow-draft vessels can penetrate 60 miles (100 km) upstream from the river's mouth; beyond that point there are many waterfalls and rapids. The river's chief tributary is the Tapanahoni, in Suriname, from the southwest.