Huallaga
Huallaga 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
- -8.13°, -76.53°
About Huallaga
The Huallaga River is a tributary of the Marañón River, part of the Amazon Basin. Old names for this river include Guallaga and Rio de los Motilones. The Huallaga is born on the slopes of the Andes in central Peru and joins the Marañón before the latter reaches the Ucayali River to form the Amazon. Its main affluents are the Monzón, Mayo, Biabo, Abiseo and Tocache rivers. Coca is grown in most of those valleys, which are also exposed to periodic floods.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Huallaga River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Huallaga in Depth
Description
Although it runs for 700 miles (1,100 km), the Huallaga remains unnavigable for the most part. For nearly its entire length the Huallaga is an impetuous torrent running through a succession of gorges. It has forty-two rapids (pongos) and it crosses the Andes, forming the Pongo de Aguirre gorge. From this point, 140 miles (230 km) from the Amazon, the Huallaga can be ascended by larger river boats (lanchas) to the port city of Yurimaguas, Loreto.
Although there are no defined boundaries, the river is commonly divided into two or three sections. From the town of Tocache in San Martin to the source of the river, it is generally referred to as the Upper Huallaga.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Huallaga River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Huallaga: Key Facts
| Length | 1,080 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 3,800 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 95,000 km² |
| Mouth | Marañón River |
| Drainage system | Amazon basin |
| Tributaries | Mayo River, Paranapura River, Chipurana River, Matador River, Quebrada Chipaota, Cuñumbusa River, Chontayacu River, Huayabamba River |
Facts from Wikidata Q611388 (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
Huallaga: Quick Answers
- Where is Huallaga?
- Huallaga is located in Peru, at 8.1297° S, 76.5341° W.
- Are there dams on the Huallaga?
- No dam on the Huallaga is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.