The Bolaños River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

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 States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

flowing through the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

, and a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

Rio Grande de Santiago Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. It has a length of 360 km and a

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of about 10 000 square kilometers.

Geography

The river's origin is in the state of

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

, about 60 km west of the city of

Fresnillo Fresnillo (/fres'nijo/), founded in 1554 by Francisco de Ibarra, is the second largest city in Zacatecas state, north central Mexico and the seat of Fresnillo municipality. As a rail and highway junction, Fresnillo is the center of a rich mining ...

, about 40 km south of

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...

. It flows south between the

Sierra los Huicholes The Sierra los Huicholes is a mountain range in western Mexico. It is located in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, and Zacatecas. The Sierra los Huicholes is part of the Sierra Madre Occidental, and is located in the southern portion of the range. ...

on the west and the

Sierra de Morones The Sierra de Morones is a mountain range in west-central Mexico. Geography The Sierra de Morones extends north and south through the state of Zacatecas. The Sierra, together with the Sierra Fría to the east and the Sierra los Huicholes to th ...

on the east. It enters the state of

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

some 85 km later, eventually draining into the Lerma Santiago River, approximately 40 km northwest of the city of

Tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the Agave tequilana, blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ...

. The last 32 km of the river form the boundary between the states of Jalisco and

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

. The principal municipalities transversed by the Bolaños River include: * in Zacatecas: San Mateo and Valparaiso; * in Jalisco:

Mezquitic Mezquitic Municipality is a municipality in the north of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It is bordered to the north east and west by the state of Zacatecas. It also shares its northern border with Huejuquilla el Alto Municipality and it shares i ...

, Villa Guerrero, Bolaños,

Chimaltitán Chimaltitán Municipality is a municipality in the north of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Borders It is bordered on the north by Totatiche Municipality and Villa Guerrero Municipality, to the east by the state of Zacatecas , image_map ...

and San Martín de Bolaños.

References

*Atlas of Mexico, 1975 (https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_mexico/river_basins.jpg). *The Prentice Hall American World Atlas, 1984. *Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993. Rivers of Zacatecas Rivers of Jalisco Rivers of Nayarit Rivers of the Sierra Madre Occidental Río Grande de Santiago {{Mexico-river-stub

Geography

See also

References