The Horcones River (Río los Horcones in
Spanish) is a river in
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 ...
, Mexico, near the village of
Boca de Tomatlán
Boca de Tomatlán, colloquially shortened to Boca, is a small fishing village in the state of Jalisco in Mexico. It is popular with Tourism in Mexico, tourists visiting the nearby city of Puerto Vallarta due to its beaches.
Geography
Boca de T ...
and city of
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...
. Its mouth is the
Bahía de Banderas
Bahía de Banderas (, Spanish for ''Bay of Flags'') is a bay on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, within the Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit. It is also the name of an administrative municipality, located on the bay in Nayarit state. The port ...
, to which it is a significant source of fresh water. The river forms a canyon.
Course
The river is fairly short, originating in
Sierra el Cuale
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
south of Boca and flowing down to the middle of the town. It mainly passes small villages and ranches, but the majority of its course runs through a forest. It does not have any
tributaries.
Landmarks nearby include
Los Veranos Canopy Tour
Los Veranos Canopy Tour ( Spanish for "the summers") is an adventure park nearby Boca de Tomatlán, Jalisco, near the resort city of Puerto Vallarta. It is known for its 16 zip lines spanning over , claiming to be the largest canopy system in t ...
and the
Vallarta Botanical Gardens
The Vallarta Botanical Garden is a botanical garden at 1,300 ft (400 m) above sea level, near Puerto Vallarta Mexico. Of which are dedicated to preserve.
The garden was founded in 2004 and has been open to the public since 2005. The ...
.
Wildlife
Animals that can be found in or close to the river include
Neotropical otter
The Neotropical otter or Neotropical river otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') is an otter species found in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the island of Trinidad. It is physically similar to the northern and southern river otter, which o ...
s and
jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
s.
Rare species of
orchids are also found on its banks.
Threats
The river and its canyon are endangered by a
hydroelectric dam which is planned to be created in the future. ''Banderas News'' speculates that the dam is just a front for what the government plans to do with it, which is rerouting the river into a large pipe for private use. However, an online petition by residents that would ask for conservation efforts and restrict its use for real estate has been signed by over 800,000 people.
The Horcones is one of the last significant free-flowing rivers in its area, and a dam would cause a change in salt and nutrient levels that are necessary for Bahía de Banderas' sea life.
References
{{reflist
Geography of Jalisco
Rivers of Jalisco