The Huancabamba River ("Stony Plain" in the

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

language) in the

Pasco Region Pasco () is a department and region in central Peru. Its capital is Cerro de Pasco. Political division The region is divided into 3 provinces ( es, provincias, singular: ), which are composed of 28 districts (''distritos'', singular: ''distrito ...

of Peru has its origin in the confluence of several small rivers near the town of Oxapampa: the Chontabamba, the Llamaquizú, and the Esperanza rivers. From an elevation of at Oxapampa, the Huancabamba River runs northward for approximately by road paralleling the river to the village of Pozuzo. The Huancabamba is joined by the Santa Cruz River north of Pozuzo at an elevation of and thereafter is called the Pozuzo River. In its lower course the Pozuzó is called the

Pachitea River The Pachitea River is a river in Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , nat ...

which joins the Ucayali River, a major component in the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

drainage basin. The Huancabamba runs in steep canyons for part of its course and with mountains on either side rising to more than in elevation. A few kilometres of the river above Pozuzo is within the Yanachaga–Chemillén National Park. The river is located in the ecological zone of the Peruvian Yungas, or Ceja de Selva ("eyebrow of the jungle"), the transition zone between the low jungles of the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...

and the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

highlands. The narrow valley of the Huancabamba was first settled by Europeans in the 19th century by colonists from Austria and Germany. The area retains traces of Germanic culture and architecture. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans the Huancabamba area was inhabited by the Yanesha (Amuesa) people.

Footnotes

{{Authority control Rivers of Peru Rivers of Pasco Region