The Cauca River () is a river in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

that lies between the Occidental and

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly u ...

s. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of

Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between the Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range. It has a population of 318,059 people, an area of 483 km2, is locate ...

, it joins the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of ...

near Magangue in Bolivar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. It has a length of to its junction with the Magdalena, for a total length of . from origin to seamouth. The river is under the supervision of the ''Cauca Regional Corporation'' and the ''Cauca Valley Regional Autonomous Corporation'', and is navigable for above its junction with the Magdalena. File:Rio cauca popayan.JPG File:Salvajina.jpg File:Río Cauca. Puente Anacaro (3). Cartago - Ansermanuevo, Valle, Colombia.JPG File:Río Cauca.JPG File:Puentes en La Pintada 01.jpg File:Puente de Occidente.JPG File:El río Cauca.jpg

Environmental issues

On November 18, 2007, Colombian newspaper '' El Tiempo'' reported that the river was receiving an average of 500 tons of residual waste a day. Pollution from the city of

, seven gold mines that also add industrial pollutants such as mercury, some 8 sand mills, plus a couple of mines of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

and

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

, the largest city on the river, depends on the river in a 76 percent. Adding to these other affluent rivers collect residual waters from other major cities and deposit an approximate of 330 tons of residual waste into the river. By the time it gets to

Yumbo Yumbo is a small, industrial city and municipality in western Colombia. It is located in the Valle del Cauca Department, just north of Cali. In 2019, it had a population of approximately 130,000 inhabitants. History Modern Yumbo was founded ...

the river has no oxygen. The

Hidroituango The Ituango Dam, also referred to as the Pescadero-Ituango Dam or Hidroituango, is an embankment dam currently under construction on the Cauca River near Ituango in Antioquia Department, Colombia. The primary purpose of the project is hydroelectri ...

energy dam project has seriously affected the Cauca River. The dam has decreased its flow in some parts, up to 80%. Río Cauca, Colombia 02

References

External links

Corporación Regional del Cauca

Corporación Autonoma Regional del Valle del Cauca
* {{Authority control Rivers of Colombia Magdalena River