Among the longest rivers of Mexico are 26 streams of at least . In the case of rivers such as the
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, the length listed in the table below is solely that of the
main stem
In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...
.
In the case of the
Grijalva and
Usumacinta
The Usumacinta River (; named after the howler monkey) is a river in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. It is formed by the junction of the Pasión River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz (in Guatemala) and the Salinas ...
, it is the combined lengths of two river systems that share a
delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
.
In the case of the
Nazas
Nazas is a city and seat of the municipality of Nazas, in the state of Durango, north-western Mexico. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. Principales resultados por localidad 2005 (ITER). Retrieved on December 20, 2008 As of 2010, ...
and
Aguanaval, it is the combined lengths of separate rivers that flow into the same
closed basin
An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...
.
Three rivers in this list cross international boundaries or form them. The Colorado and the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
(Río Bravo del Norte or Río Bravo) begin in the United States and flow into Mexico, while the Usumacinta begins in
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
and flows into Mexico.
The primary source for the length, watershed, and
surface runoff
Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when th ...
data in the table below is the 10th edition of ''Statistics on Water in Mexico'', published by the National Water Commission in Mexico (CONAGUA); exceptions are as noted.
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s and
departments of Guatemala
Guatemala is divided into 22 Department (country subdivision), departments (Spanish language, Spanish: ''departamentos'')
which are in turn divided into 340 Municipalities of Guatemala, municipalities.
In addition, Guatemala has claimed that all ...
appear in italics in the "States" column.
See also
*
List of rivers of Mexico
This is a list of rivers of Mexico, listed from north to south. There are 246 rivers on this list. Alternate names for rivers are given in parentheses.
Rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico
*Río Bravo, the name of the Rio Grande in Mexico
** Sa ...
*
List of rivers of the Americas by coastline
This list of rivers of the Americas by coastline includes the major coastal rivers of the Americas arranged by country. A link to a map of rivers with known coordinates is listed at right. The ocean coasts are demarcated as follows:
*Arctic O ...
Notes and references
;Notes
;References
Works cited
*Benke, Arthur C., ed., and Cushing, Colbert E., ed. ''Rivers of North America''. Burlington, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. {{ISBN, 0-12-088253-1.
*
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 ...