Río Coatzacoalcos

	Río Coatzacoalcos
	Geographical map of the isthmus of Tehuantepec
	Data
location	Mexico
River system	Río Coatzacoalcos
source	Sierra de Niltepec ( Oaxaca ) ; 16 ° 56 ′ 44 " N , 94 ° 37 ′ 1" W.
muzzle	Gulf of Mexico Coordinates: 18 ° 9 ′ 56 " N , 94 ° 24 ′ 50" W 18 ° 9 ′ 56 " N , 94 ° 24 ′ 50" W;
Mouth height	0 m
length	325 km
Catchment area	17.369 km²
Left tributaries	Río Sarabia , Río Jaltepec
Right tributaries	Río El Corte , Río Uxpanapa
Ports	Coatzacoalcos, Minatitlan
Navigable	Estuary (28 km)
	Pyramid / museum in the town of Coatzacoalcos

The only 325 km long Río Coatzacoalcos is - measured by its amount of water - after the Río Usumacinta , the Río Grijalva and the Río Papaloapan the fourth largest river in Mexico .

geography

The Río Coatzacoalcos rises in the mountains of the Sierra de Niltepec in the Mexican state of Oaxaca , flows northwards from there and flows into the isthmus of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the state of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico . It has several smaller tributaries; the largest is the Río Uxpanapa, which together with it forms a 28 km long estuary that can also be navigated by ocean-going ships, on whose west bank lies the port city of Coatzacoalcos .

economy

The banks of the Río Coatzacoalcos and its tributaries, and later the entire hinterland, were cleared for centuries. The landscape is now characterized by fields and pastures. The port and industrial facilities on both sides of the river mouth play the greatest economic role today.

Infrastructure

The cable-stayed bridge over the Río Coatzacoalcos, completed in 1980, is one of the landmarks of modern Mexico with a total length of 1170 m and a pillar height of approx. 100 m. A little further north is a four-lane 2.3 km long (of which approx. 700 m below the river) road tunnel shortly before its completion; it is intended to connect the city on the western bank of the river at a maximum depth of 30 m (i.e. approx. 10 m below the deepened river bed) with the settlement of Villa Allende and the industrial areas of Minatitlán on the east side.

environmental pollution

Through fertilizers , pesticides and human waste water ( aguas negras ), considerable amounts of poison enter the river in the upper reaches of the Río Coatzacoalcos; there are also considerable amounts of plastic waste . Its estuary is also polluted by sewage from the chemical industry and refineries . The Río Coatzacoalcos is therefore considered to be the most contaminated river in Mexico. Nevertheless, fishing continues in the estuary, although catches have fallen sharply and the fish can hardly be sold in the markets.

Legend

The name Coatzacoalcos ('place where the snake hides') is said to be derived from the god-king Quetzalcóatl ('feather snake'), who built a raft for himself from snake skins, with which he is said to have disappeared over the sea. The coat of arms of Coatzacoalcos and a pyramid built in the 1990s, which houses a museum on the history, art and culture of the Olmecs, are a reminder of this. A similar version of the legend can be found as the founding myth of the Maya city of Chichén Itzá on the Yucatán peninsula .

Web links

Commons : Coatzacoalcos River - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Pollution on the Río Coatzacoalcos - Video (Spanish)
Bridge over the Río Coatzacoalcos - Video (Spanish)
Tunnel under the Río Coatzacoalcos - Video (Spanish)