Laja River ( es, Río De La Laja) is a river in the

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

in central

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 ...

. It measures 137 km long, rising in 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 ...

, first flowing east and then south to join the Apaseo near

Celaya Celaya (; ) is a city and its surrounding municipalities of Mexico, municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 3 ...

. The Laja then turns westward eventually joining the Lerma just east of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

. The Laja is impounded at Salitrillo, just downstream from

San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the city lies from Mexico City, 86 km (53 mi) from Queré ...

to form the

Presa Allende Presa may refer to: * Preša, village in the Municipality of Majšperk in northeastern Slovenia * Presa Canario, Spanish breed of large dog of mastiff or catch dog type * Presa-Tusiu, archaeological site in Corsica * Presa de Montejaque Presa de ...

(Allende Reservoir).

References

The Columbia Gazetteer of North America
Rivers of the Sierra Madre Occidental Rivers of Guanajuato Lerma River {{Mexico-river-stub