The Cesar River ( es, Río Cesar) is a river in northern Colombia which is a part of the Magdalena Basin. It flows through the

Cesar-Ranchería Basin The Cesar-Ranchería Basin ( es, Cuenca Cesar-Ranchería) is a sedimentary basin in northeastern Colombia. It is located in the southern part of the department of La Guajira and northeastern portion of Cesar. The basin is bound by the Oca Faul ...

and separates the

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...

from the mountain ranges of the

Serranía del Perijá The Serranía del Perijá, Cordillera de Perijá or Sierra de Perijá is a mountain range, an extension of the eastern Andean branch ( Cordillera Oriental), in northern South America, between Colombia and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), offici ...

, an extension of the Cordillera Oriental. It flows north to south, down from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the

Guajira Department La Guajira () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The capital city of the departm ...

onto the

Cesar Department Caesar Department ( es, Departamento del Cesar, links=no) or simply Caesar () is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to the west with ...

and flowing into the Zapatosa Marsh where it turns to the southwest and discharges into 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 ...

Valledupar Valledupar () is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Caesar Department. Its name, ''Valle de Upar'' (Valley of Upar), was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; ''Cacique Upar''. T ...

is the only major city on its route.

Tributaries

* Badillo RiverBealey, J. T. (1887) "Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta" ''Scottish Geographical Magazine'' 3: pp. 174-184, page 180 * Guatapuri River * Ariguani River * Villanueva River, in length out of the Cerro Pintao."Municipio Villanueva - Geografia (Villanueva Municipality - Geography)"
, accessed 8 December 2008 * Various streams of the Zapatosa Marshes including the ** Bartolazo wetlands; ** Pancuiche wetlands; ** Pancuichito wetlands; ** La Palma wetlands; ** Santo Domingo wetlands; and ** Tiojuancho wetlands.

Tributaries

References

Further reading