The Amacuzac River is located in

Morelos Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cuer ...

, Mexico and it is the most important river of this state being approximately 60 km long. It originates in the slopes of

Nevado de Toluca Nevado de Toluca () is a stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The volcano and the area ar ...

and empties southwards into the Balsas River. It bisects the Sierra de Huautla, and a portion of the river is in the

Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve The Sierra de Huautla is a mountain range and biosphere reserve in central Mexico. Located in southern Morelos, the Sierra de Huautla is a southern extension of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt range into the Balsas Basin. The dry forests of Sier ...

. The Amacuzac River is known for its rapids which support extreme sports.

Geography

The Amacuzac River is one of the most important tributaries of the Balsas River. It originates on the slopes of the ''Nevado de Toluca'', in the State of Mexico, where it is known as Texcatitlán River. The Amacuzac River runs through the valley of

Almoloya de Alquisiras Almoloya de Alquisiras is a town and municipality, in Mexico State in Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United S ...

, after 75 km it reaches the Sierra de Cacahuamilpa, then it disappears at the foot of Jumil Hill and turns into an underground river. When it emerges the current is known as the Amacuzac River, in the territory of the state of Morelos. The Cuautla River empties into the Amacuzac River and crosses the town of

Amacuzac Amacuzac is a city in the Mexican state of Morelos. The name means ''In the River of Yellow Amates.'' Amacuzac stands at , at a mean height of 900 meters (3,000 ft.) above sea level. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding munic ...

. It receives the flow of the Chiquito River which collects the waters of Tembembe and Chalma. Finally it reaches the place called Balseadero where it follows its route of about 104 km moving to the southwest, outside Morelos to join the Balsas River.

Environment

The Amacuzac River is located in the tropical zone and It has a hydrological surface of 117,406 km², distributed in three sub-regions: High Balsas 50,409 km², Middle Balsas 31,951 km², and Lower Balsas 35,046 km². A total of 45 species, 32 genera and 10 families of aquatic and semiaquatic beetles live near the Amacuzac River. The climate that prevails near the river is the warm humid, mainly in the low part of Amacuzac River. The Amacuzac River is the main water body of the

, and flows for over 60 km within the reserve.

Activities

During the rainy season, the Amacuzac River swells enough to support some extreme sports such as rafting. The river is divided into two parts, high and low. The high part is approximately 15 kilometers long and it is quiet. The rivers are classified according to their degree of turbulence, from level I to VI, I being the calmest and VI the most dangerous. In the low part of the Amacuzac River the rapids can be category III or IV.

References

{{coord missing, Morelos Balsas River Rivers of the State of Mexico Rivers of Morelos Rivers of Guerrero Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

Geography

Environment

Activities

See also

References