Mainstay Lake
Location of Mainstay Lake in Guyana
Location of Mainstay Lake in Guyana
Mainstay Lake
Location of Mainstay Lake in Guyana
Location of Mainstay Lake in Guyana
Mainstay Lake
LocationSouth America
Coordinates07°13′59″N 58°32′19″W / 7.23306°N 58.53861°W / 7.23306; -58.53861
Basin countriesGuyana
Max. length193 mi (311 km)
Max. width53 mi (85 km)
Surface area7,540 sq mi (19,500 km2)
Average depth283 ft (86 m)

Mainstay Lake is a lake in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region of Guyana, near the Atlantic coast, northwest of the mouth of the Essequibo River, 12 mi (19 km) north of Adventure. There is a 0.5 mi (0.80 km) stretch of white sand at the edge of the lake.

Economic activity

A resort has been built next to the lake, a seven miles from the region’s administrative hub at Anna Regina, or through the resort on a twenty-minute flight from Georgetown to the resort’s airstrip. Mainstay Lake Resort hosts an annual regatta as well as a regular Easter Car and Bike Show.[1] The resort was closed for seven months in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3]

A pineapple processing facility was established in Mainstay/Whyaka in 2002, an initiative of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) and Amazon Caribbean Ltd (AMCAR).[4] Due to declining pineapple farming in the area, AMCAR closed the facility in 2014;[5] there were talks of reopening in 2019.[6]

Settlement

Whyaka or Whyak is a thirteen square-mile Amerindian community[7] of mostly Arawak people. Arawaks were the first to inhabit the Mainstay area who called it ‘Quacabuka’ meaning ‘in-between'.[4] The village has a population of 576[8] and features a primary school (once known as St. Vincent Anglican School) and a nursery school, a health centre, a community centre, a ballfield, a chicken farm, a pine factory, a heritage park.[4] Secondary schooling is done in Anna Regina or Cotton Field.[4] The toshao is Milton Fredericks.[9] The location of the Mainstay Village is 07°14′09″N 58°32′25″W / 7.23583°N 58.54028°W / 7.23583; -58.54028.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Paltry tourism investment, marketing leaves Mainstay's potential unrealized". Stabroek News. 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  2. ↑ "Hard-hit Mainstay Resort to reopen today". Stabroek News. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  3. ↑ "Mainstay resort on road to recovery following COVID-19 setback". Stabroek News. 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Lake Mainstay". Stabroek News. 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  5. ↑ "Mainstay/Whyaka ends collaboration with Amcar for organic pineapples". Stabroek News. 2014-10-30. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  6. ↑ "Talks to resume on resuscitating the pineapple industry in Region 2". Stabroek News. 2019-06-08. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  7. ↑ "Indigenous Villages | Ministry of Amerindian Affairs". Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  8. ↑ "Publications – Bureau of Statistics – Guyana". 10 April 2019. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  9. ↑ "Cotton Field, Mainstay Lake get new nursery schools". Stabroek News. 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  10. ↑ Hollowell, Tom; Gillespie, Lynn J.; Funk, V.A.; Kelloff, Carol L. (2003). "Smithsonian Plant Collections, Guyana: 1989 - 1991, Lynn J. Gillespie". Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. 44: 1–104. ISSN 0097-1618. JSTOR 23493216.
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