Atrato
Atrato is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 6.90°, -76.90°
About Atrato
The Atrato River (Spanish: Río Atrato) is a river of northwestern Colombia. It rises in the slopes of the Western Cordillera and flows almost due north to the Gulf of Urabá (or Gulf of Darién), where it forms a large, swampy delta. Its course crosses the Chocó Department, forming that department's border with neighboring Antioquia in two places. Its total length is about 650 km (400 mi), and it is navigable as far as Quibdó (400 km / 250 mi), the capital of the department.
In 2016, the Constitutional Court of Colombia granted the river legal rights of personhood after years of degradation of the river basin from large-scale mining and illegal logging practices, which severely impacted the traditional ways of life for Afro-Colombians and Indigenous people.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Atrato River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Atrato in Depth
History
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the San Juan and the Atrato rivers attracted considerable attention as part of a feasible route for a trans-isthmian canal in Colombia. William Kennish, an engineer and inventor from the Isle of Man and Royal British Navy veteran, proposed an aqueduct making use of the Atrato River and its tributary, the Truando River, to cross the Colombian isthmus. After publishing a report in 1855 on this proposal for a New York firm, he was chosen to guide a US military expedition to explore and survey the proposed project in Colombia.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Atrato River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Atrato: Key Facts
| Length | 644 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 4,900 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 38,500 km² |
| Mouth | Gulf of Urabá |
| Tributaries | Bojayá River, Murrí River, Salaqui River |
Facts from Wikidata Q1363972 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Atrato: Quick Answers
- Where is Atrato?
- Atrato is located in Colombia, at 6.9038° N, 76.9011° W.
- Are there dams on the Atrato?
- No dam on the Atrato is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.