Motagua River
Motagua River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Countries | Guatemala and Honduras |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Quiché Department |
• coordinates | 14°56′57″N 91°00′32″W / 14.94917°N 91.00889°W |
• elevation | 1,800 m (5,900 ft) |
2nd source | Baja Verapaz Department |
Mouth | Gulf of Honduras in the Atlantic Ocean |
• location | Puerto Barrios |
• coordinates | 15°43′29″N 88°13′18″W / 15.72472°N 88.22167°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Length | 486.55 km (302.33 mi)[1] |
Basin size | 12,670 km2 (4,890 sq mi)[1] |
Discharge | |
• average | 208.7 m3/s (7,370 cu ft/s)[1] |
The Motagua River (Spanish pronunciation: [moˈtaɣwa]) is a 486-kilometre-long (302 mi) river in Guatemala. It rises in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The Motagua River basin covers an area of 12,670 square kilometres (4,890 sq mi) and is the largest in Guatemala.
The Motagua River valley contains sources of jadeitite, which has been used by many Indigenous communities that have inhabited the region. The Motagua River is also one of the most plastic-emitting rivers in the world, contributing around two percent of global plastic pollution emissions into oceans annually. Conservation efforts have been driven by the government and non-government organizations to ensure safe water and clean oceans.
Course
The river begins in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and runs along the Atlantic slope.[1][2] Traveling in an easterly direction, it passes through 14 of Guatemala’s departments and contains seven distinct ecoregions.[2][3] Along its course, water flows in from 29 other major rivers.[2] The final few kilometres of the river form part of the Guatemala–Honduras border.[4] The river mouth opens at El Quetzalito Beach, which is located along the Guatemalan coast, and flows into the Gulf of Honduras.[5]
The Motagua River valley also marks the Motagua Fault, the tectonic boundary between the North American and the Caribbean Plates.[6] The Motagua fault has been the source of several major earthquakes in Guatemala.[7]
History
The river runs in a valley that has the only known source of jadeitite (jade) in Mesoamerica.[3] Green jade, which was used by the Aztec and Maya people, was re-discovered in the 1950s by American geologist William Foshag, who was directed by a local tomato farmer.[8] The rarer blue-green jade, used by the Olmec people, was re-discovered further north of the river in 2002.[8]
The
The river was also an important commerce route during the
Pollution
History
Pollution is reported to have first affected the river in 2003 when industrial waste from a power plant in Guatemala City was carried down the Río Las Vacas, one of its tributaries.[13] Those living along the river were instructed not to use the contaminated water for drinking, cooking, or cleaning.[13]
Water Quality
The water quality of rivers in Guatemala is generally poor because there are no standard measures for maintaining river water conditions.[14] Water quality regulation policy also often fails to dictate responsibilities between the government and individual departments, and has not been adequately implemented or coordinated at the administrative level.[15] Despite this, attempts at legislation to improve water quality regulation have often prolonged for multiple years in the Guatemalan Congress.[15]
The river is highly polluted with untreated sewage, industrial waste, tons of sediment (garbage) and blackwater from Guatemala City carried by the Río Las Vacas tributary.[16] It is one of the world’s most polluted rivers and accounts for about two percent of plastic emissions into the world’s oceans.[17] Those living along the river also contribute to the pollution, as each person disposes, on average, 1.15 pounds of waste each day.[3]
Outcomes
As the pollution from the river reaches the Caribbean, it begins to harm marine environments.[5] This pollution is especially dangerous in the marine protected areas of Honduras and Guatemala, in which conservation efforts are prioritized in an effort to maintain species diversity.[5] The pollution also affects the many Indigenous communities who rely on the resources that the river provides.[2] Additionally, members of coastal communities must often pick up the trash themselves and are financially burdened by the effects of pollution on popular industries such as fishing and tourism.[18]
Conservation
Though the right to safe drinking water is mandated in Guatemala, it is obstructed by poor waste management regulations and limited government intervention.[15] Much of Guatemala’s rural population works in agriculture, which further increases the demand for safe water.[14] The Guatemalan government began to take action by constructing bio-fences to filter waste traveling down the river.[19] They have also worked with the Stockholm International Water Institute to implement the National Water and Sanitation Policy in Guatemala, which outlines a number of objectives to improve regulation and conservation.[20]
Conservation projects such as 4ocean’s Project Guatemala seek to involve local government and community members in prioritizing limiting waste from reaching the ocean.[18] The Ocean Cleanup also chose the river as the test site for its experimental "Interceptor Trashfence," which attempts to filter out solid pollutants as they flow downriver.[17]
Tributaries
Left
Right
Río Chipaca, Rio Agua Escondida, Rio Quisaya, Rio Pixcayá, Río Cotzibal, Río Las Vacas, Río Grande, Río Ovejas, Río El Tambor, Río San Vicente, Río Grande o Zapaca, Río Carí, Río Las Naranjas, Río Biafra, Río El Islote, Río Jubuco, Río Lagarto, Río Tepemechín, Río Juyamá, Río Bobos, Río Animas, Río Chiquito, Río Nuevo o Cacao
References
- ^ a b c d "RIOS DE GUATEMALA". INSIVUMEH. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ a b c d "Rural young feminists defend Motagua River through artivism – GAGGA". 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
- ^ a b c Rodríguez, Jorge; Carbajal, Richard; Colindres, Misael (2022-04-22). "Motagua: A river that rises in Guatemala and is threatened in Honduras". Historias Sin Fronteras. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- S2CID 147670425.
- ^ S2CID 218504601.
- ^ a b Reed, Christina (2002). "Geotimes - August 2002 - Guatemala Jade". www.geotimes.org. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- S2CID 246740088.
- ^ a b "Re-Discovery of Olmec Blue Jade". Houston Geological Society. 2002-10-01. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ a b c d e Benitez, Alex (2013). "Trails of Cultures: Trade Routes Connected Ancient Central America". NMAI Magazine. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ a b c Fabricant, Florence. "Monuments of the Maya: Copan and Quirigua in Central America are Dotted with Majestic Stele, Arrayed Like Sandstone Sculptures Maya Monuments." New York Times (1923-), 1993, pp. 180.
- .
- ^ Sharer, Robert. (2012) "Time of Kings and Queens." Expedition Magazine. 54 (1): 26-35.
- ^ JSTOR 3868029.
- ^ S2CID 232067091.
- ^ .
- ^ US Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District & Topographic Engineering Center. (2000). Water Resources Assessment of Guatemala. https://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Portals/46/docs/military/engineering/docs/WRA/Guatemala/Guatemala%20WRA%20English.pdf
- ^ a b Slat, Boyan (2022). "The Ocean Cleanup Trials New Interceptor in World's Most Polluting River". The Ocean Cleanup. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ a b Schulze, Alex. "A river of plastic: How 4ocean plans to clean up the Motagua River". Oceanographic. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ Sánchez, Erica; Maes, Sophie (2018). "Guatemala Is Using 'Bio-Fences' to Curb Plastic Pollution". Global Citizen. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
- ^ Alvarez Murillo, Isabel; Alvarez, Lourdes (2023). "Guatemala is taking big steps to upgrade its National Water and Sanitation Policy". SIWI. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
External links
- Map of Guatemala including the river
- Jade sources in The Motagua River Valley
- "Motagua River basin: Vital resource for Guatemala and Honduras". IW:Learn. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.