Coatzacoalcos
Coatzacoalcos 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
- 17.68°, -94.70°
About Coatzacoalcos
The Coatzacoalcos is a large river that feeds mainly the south part of the state of Veracruz; it originates in the Sierra de Niltepec and crosses the state of Oaxaca in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, flowing for 325 kilometres (202 miles) toward the Gulf of Mexico. Tributaries include El Corte, Sarabia, Jaltepec, Chalchijalpa, El Chiquito, Uxpanapa, and Calzadas. The merging of all these rivers creates one of the largest current flows in the entire region. Two-thirds of the streams are navigable.
Juan de Grijalva's 1518 expedition encountered the river. Hernán Cortés sent Diego de Ordaz to explore the river as a possible port.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Coatzacoalcos River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Coatzacoalcos in Depth
History
The Coatzacoalcos River is one of the most important rivers in Mexico. The oldest map of this river was drawn by Francisco Gali in 1580. Unlike most maps made in New Spain in the last quarter of the sixteenth century, this map is purely European in style and is somewhat reminiscent of a nautical chart. Analysis of the map suggests that it was made hastily. Both the errors in the distances and the numerous corrections that can still be observed support this conjecture. It seems that Francisco Gali was more interested from his point of view as an explorer and navigator in the most important aspect of the region: the possibility of connecting the North Sea and the South Sea through the Strait of Tehuantepec.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Coatzacoalcos River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Coatzacoalcos: Key Facts
| Length | 282 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 2,330 km² |
| Mouth | Gulf of Mexico |
| Tributaries | Sarabia River, Uspanapa River |
Facts from Wikidata Q868103 (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
Coatzacoalcos: Quick Answers
- Where is Coatzacoalcos?
- Coatzacoalcos is located in Mexico, at 17.6766° N, 94.7048° W.
- Are there dams on the Coatzacoalcos?
- No dam on the Coatzacoalcos is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.