Pánuco River
Pánuco River Río de Canoas | |
---|---|
Native name | Río Pánuco (Spanish) |
Location | |
Country | Mexico |
States | Mexico Hidalgo Querétaro San Luis Potosí Tamaulipas Veracruz |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Confluence of Moctezuma and Tampaón Rivers |
• coordinates | 21°58′05″N 98°33′48″W / 21.96806°N 98.56333°W |
• elevation | 3,800 metres (12,500 ft) |
Mouth | |
• location | Gulf of Mexico at Ciudad Madero |
• coordinates | 22°16′00″N 97°47′00″W / 22.26667°N 97.78333°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Length | 510 kilometres (320 mi) |
Basin size | 84,956 square kilometres (32,802 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• location | Las Adjuntas |
• average | 481 cubic metres per second (17,000 cu ft/s) |
The Pánuco River (
Description
The Pánuco River drains a basin of 98,227 km2, which includes portions of the Mexican Plateau, the Sierra Madre Oriental, and the Gulf Coastal Plain.[2]
The Pánuco is formed by the confluence of its two main tributaries, the Moctezuma and the Tampaón (or Tamuín).
The Moctezuma originates on the Mexican Plateau, and its headwater streams include the Tula River. It runs northward, forming the state border between Hidalgo and Querétaro as it moves toward San Luis Potosí, before turning eastward to carve a deep canyon through the Sierra Madre Oriental. Once emerging onto the Gulf Coastal Plain, it runs northeastwards, joined from the south by the Tempoal River before joining the Tamuin in Veracruz.[2]
The
The Pánuco winds another 172.5 km through the coastal lowlands, joined from the south by the
In total, the Pánuco is more than 500 km in length, though only the last 15 km is navigable for larger ships. The watershed of the Pánuco and its tributaries drains portions of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Mexico, Puebla, and Veracruz.
In 1519, during his cartographic expeditions along the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda established a settlement on the river, which he named Las Palmas, though it was abandoned after he was killed in battle with indigenous peoples living nearby.[3]: 132, 309
Climate
The Pánuco basin has a subtropical climate. The climate east of the Sierra ranges from semi-arid in the north and subhumid in the south, with average annual rainfall ranging from 800 mm in drier north up to 3000 mm in the south. The eastward-facing slopes of the Sierra generate
The principal source of rainfall is easterly
The volume of water carried by the river is highest during late summer and early fall, and is generally low from November through June.[2]
Ecology
The Pánuco River basin is rich in fish. There are almost 100 fish species, including a few that were
See also
References
- ^ "River Basins", Atlas of Mexico, 1975, with topographical map
- ^ a b c d e f Hudson, Paul F. (2000) "Discharge, Sediment, and Channel Characteristics of the Río Panuco, Mexico". Yearbook (Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers), 2000, Vol. 26 (2000), University of Texas Press, pp. 61-70. [1]
- ISBN 0140441239
- ^ a b c Soto-Galera, E.; Alcántara-Soria, L.; Paulo-Maya, J. (2011). "Estado actual de la ictiofauna dulceacuícola de la provincia del complejo Tamesí-Pánuco" (PDF). Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas. Informe final SNIB-CONABIO proyecto No. FM027. México, D.F.
- PMID 18353691.
- ISBN 978-607-16-4087-1.
Sources and external links
- "Panuco", Freshwater Ecoregions of the World
- "Tales of Southern Rivers", by Zane Grey , 1924, True story of descent of Santa Rosa and Panuco Rivers