For other rivers with the same name, see San Juan River The San
Juan River (Spanish: Río San Juan) is a 180 km river that flows
east out of Lake Nicaragua into the Caribbean Sea. It was part,
with the lake, of a proposed route for a Nicaragua Canal in the
19th century. The idea of the project has been revived in the
last decade, including the possibility of other routes within
the country. The Ecocanal project has obtained a Concession from
the National Assembly of Nicaragua to re-open the San Juan River
to commercial barge traffic. Prior to the Panama Canal, the San
Juan river was frequently used to get from the Atlantic to the
Pacific Ocean, many people, including African slaves, were
transported through this means. During the California Gold Rush
many people from all over the world traveled to California to
mine for gold, tens of thousands of which took a steamboat that
was operated by the Accessory Company of Transit and was
directed by commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. The boat then took
the path through t