Catatumbo River

Río Catatumbo Río Algodonal
Catatumbo thunderstorm in the estuary area
Data
location	Colombia , Venezuela
River system	Catatumbo River
source	in the Colombian Eastern Cordillera 7 ° 52 ′ 51 ″  N , 73 ° 13 ′ 31 ″  W
Source height	approx.  2000  m
muzzle	in Lake Maracaibo Coordinates: 9 ° 21 ′ 13 "  N , 71 ° 42 ′ 6"  W 9 ° 21 ′ 13 "  N , 71 ° 42 ′ 6"  W.
Mouth height	0  m
Height difference	approx. 2000 m
Bottom slope	approx. 4 ‰
length	approx. 500 km
Catchment area	22,317 km²
Left tributaries	Río Chiquito , Río El Brandy , Río de Oro
Right tributaries	Río El Tarra , Río Orú , Río Sardinata , Río Zulia
Big cities	Ocaña
Communities	Algodonal , Puerto Machete , Encontrados
Location of the Río Catatumbo

The Río Catatumbo is a 500 km long river in Colombia and Venezuela in northern South America.

The Río Catatumbo has its source in the Colombian Eastern Cordillera on the Cerro de las Jurisdicciones . In the upper reaches it bears the name Río Algodonal . It flows through the Colombian administrative district Departamento de Norte de Santander . The river flows north through the mountains. It flows east past the city of Ocaña . Later it turns to the northeast and finally to the east and reaches the lowlands. It crosses the border into Venezuela and flows through the Venezuelan state of Zulia , before flowing into Lake Maracaibo . At Encontrados the Río Zulia flows into the river from the right. Other important tributaries of the Río Catatumbo are Río Chiquito , Río El Brandy and Río de Oro from the left and Río El Tarra , Río Orú and Río Sardinata from the right. The Catatumbo Barí National Park in Colombia covers the area northwest of the central reaches.