Río Lempa

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Río Lempa
Upper reaches of the Rio Lempa

Upper reaches of the Rio Lempa

Data
location Guatemala , Honduras , El Salvador
source in Guatemala
Source height approx.  1000  m
muzzle in the Pacific Coordinates: 13 ° 15 ′ 22 "  N , 88 ° 49 ′ 34"  W 13 ° 15 ′ 22 "  N , 88 ° 49 ′ 34"  W.
Mouth height 0  m
Height difference approx. 1000 m
Bottom slope approx. 2.4 ‰
length 422 km
Catchment area 17,790 km²
Right tributaries Sumpul , Torola
Middle reaches of the Río Lempa in El Salvador

Middle reaches of the Río Lempa in El Salvador

The Río Lempa is an approx. 422 km long river that rises in the south of the Chiquimula department in Guatemala from the confluence of several spring streams at an altitude of approx. 1000 m, the municipality of Esquipulas as well as the extreme west of Honduras and large parts of El Salvador flows through and finally flows into the Pacific . With a length of 320 km, it is the longest river in El Salvador.

Catchment area

The catchment area of ​​the Río Lempa of around 17,790 km² is in Guatemala (2,457 km²), Honduras (5,251 km²) and El Salvador (10,082 km²). The highest point in the catchment area is in the Montañas de Honduras (approx. 2805 m)

Reservoirs

The Río Lempa is dammed three times in El Salvador; all reservoirs are used for water supply, electricity generation, fishing and recreation.

  • Lago de Suchitlán or Embalse del Cerrón Grande (inaugurated in 1976; largest artificial lake in El Salvador; depth 10 to 32 m; maximum size approx. 135 km²; capacity max. 2180 million m³; altitude 228 to 243 m above sea level).
  • Presa 5 de noviembre (inauguration in 1954; height of the dam 65 m, maximum size 18 km²; capacity max. 380 million m³)
  • Presa 15 de septiembre (inauguration 1983; height of the dam 57 m; maximum size 35.5 km²; height above sea level 50 m)

literature

Web links

Commons : Río Lempa  - collection of images, videos and audio files