Río Tapiche

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Río Tapiche
Río Tapiche at Requena

Río Tapiche at Requena

Data
location PeruPeru Peru
River system Amazon
Drain over Río Ucayali  → Amazon  → Atlantic
Headwaters Sierra de Contamana
7 ° 13 ′ 21 ″  S , 73 ° 44 ′ 8 ″  W.
Source height approx.  550  m
muzzle Río Ucayali Coordinates: 5 ° 2 ′ 10 "  S , 73 ° 50 ′ 22"  W 5 ° 2 ′ 10 "  S , 73 ° 50 ′ 22"  W.
Mouth height approx.  94  m
Height difference approx. 456 m
Bottom slope approx. 0.67 ‰
length approx. 680 km
Catchment area approx. 23,640 km²
Drain MQ
 1100 m³ / s
Right tributaries Quebrada Punga, Quebrada Yanayacu, Río Blanco
Medium-sized cities Requena
Communities Eufracio, Tabalosos, Santa Rosa, Santa Elena

The Río Tapiche is an approximately 680 km long right tributary of the Río Ucayali in northeastern Peru in the province of Requena in the Loreto region .

River course

The Río Tapiche rises in the Sierra de Contamana , a mountain range in the western Amazon lowlands , right on the border with Brazil . The headwaters are at an altitude of around 550  m . The Río Tapiche initially flows through the ridge for a distance of 25 km in a predominantly south-south-west direction. It then turns to the northwest and runs along the southwest flank of the ridge. From river kilometer 470 the Río Tapiche turns north-northeast. At river km 122 the Río Blanco meets the Río Tapiche from the right. This now turns to the north. The Río Tapiche finally flows into the Río Ucayali near the provincial capital Requena on the right bank of the river, 134 km above its junction with the Río Marañón to the Amazon . The Río Tapiche shows a strongly meandering behavior with countless river bends and oxbow lakes along its entire course .

Settlements along the river

  • Eufracio (river km 473, right)
  • Tabalosos (river km 432, right)
  • Santa Rosa (river km 395, left)
  • Santa Elena (river km 283, left)

Catchment area

The approximately 23,640 km² catchment area of the Río Tapiche lies within the province of Requena. The Río Ucayali runs in the south-west, west and north-west. The watershed to the rivers Rio Juruá in the southeast and Rio Javari in the northeast runs along the state border with Brazil. The upper reaches of the Río Tapiche lies within the Sierra del Divisor National Park .

Others

The Río Tapiche is a so-called " black water river ". Its catchment area extends exclusively over the rainforest. At river kilometer 155 lies the Tapiche Reserve , a 15.4 km² private reserve that can be visited by tourists.