Pánuco River
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The Pánuco River (, ), also known as the ''Río de Canoas'', is a river in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
fed by several tributaries including the Moctezuma River and emptying into the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. The river is approximately long and passes through or borders the
states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, Hidalgo,
Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...
,
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...
,
Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...
, and
Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
. According to the ''Atlas of Mexico'', it is the fourth-largest river in Mexico by volume of runoff, and forms the sixth-largest
river basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...
in Mexico by area."River Basins"
''Atlas of Mexico'', 1975, with topographical map


Description

The Pánuco River drains a basin of 98,227 km2, which includes portions of the
Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano (), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the United States border in the north to the T ...
, the
Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...
, and the
Gulf Coastal Plain The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico. This coastal plain reaches from the Florida Panhandle, southwest Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, the southern two-thirds of Alabama, over m ...
.Hudson, Paul F. (2000) "Discharge, Sediment, and Channel Characteristics of the Río Panuco, Mexico". ''Yearbook (Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers), 2000'', Vol. 26 (2000), University of Texas Press, pp. 61-70

/ref> The Pánuco is formed by the confluence of its two main tributaries, the Moctezuma River, Moctezuma and the Tampaón (or Tamuín). The Moctezuma originates on the Mexican Plateau, and its headwater streams include the Tula River. It runs northward, forming the state border between Hidalgo and Querétaro as it moves toward
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...
, before turning eastward to carve a deep canyon through the
Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...
. Once emerging onto the Gulf Coastal Plain, it runs northeastwards, joined from the south by the Tempoal River before joining the Tamuin in
Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
. The Santa Maria and Rio Verde also originate on the Mexican Plateau, north of the Moctezuma. They carve canyons through the Sierra, where they join to form the Tampaón, which continues eastwards past the Sierra onto the Gulf Coastal Plain to join the Moctezuma. The Pánuco winds another 172.5 km through the coastal lowlands, joined from the south by the Topila and from the north by the Tamesí, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at
Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...
Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas. The lower Pánuco forms the border between the states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz. The Tampico Bridge crosses the river near its mouth. In total, the Pánuco is more than 500 km in length, though only the last 15 km is navigable for larger ships. The watershed of the Pánuco and its tributaries drains portions of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí,
Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...
, Querétaro, Hidalgo,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...
, and Veracruz. In 1519, during his cartographic expeditions along the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Spanish explorer
Alonso Álvarez de Pineda Alonso Álvarez de Pineda (; 1494–1520) was a Spanish conquistador and cartography, cartographer who was the first to prove the insularity of the Gulf of Mexico by sailing around its coast. In doing so he created the first map to depict what i ...
established a settlement on the river, which he named ''Las Palmas'', though it was abandoned after he was killed in battle with indigenous peoples living nearby.Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books,


Climate

The Pánuco basin has a subtropical climate. The climate east of the Sierra ranges from semi-arid in the north and subhumid in the south, with average annual rainfall ranging from 800 mm in drier north up to 3000 mm in the south. The eastward-facing slopes of the Sierra generate orographic precipitation. The Mexican Plateau is in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
of the Sierra Madre Oriental, and has an arid to semi-arid climate, with an average annual rainfall of 300 mm. The principal source of rainfall is easterly
trade wind The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere, ...
s, which strengthen from late June to August. Tropical cyclonic storms can bring additional moisture from August through October. August is generally the highest rainfall month. Rainfall is generally low from November to mid-June, except for occasional mid-latitude storms coming from the north during the winter months. The volume of water carried by the river is highest during late summer and early fall, and is generally low from November through June.


Ecology

The Pánuco River basin is rich in fish. There are almost 100 fish species, including a few that were introduced. There are many endemics: six ''
Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...
'' cichlid species, five '' Tampichthys'' minnows, nine "northern swordtails" (genus '' Xiphophorus''), three '' Gambusia'' species, two '' Ictalurus'' catfish, the bluetail goodeid (''Ataeniobius toweri''), dusky splitfin (''Goodea gracilis''), relict splitfin (''Xenoophorus captivus''), pygmy shiner (''Notropis tropicus''), checkered pupfish (''Cualac tessellatus''), broadspotted molly (''Poecilia latipunctata''), Tamasopo cichlid (''Herichthys tamasopoensis''), Calabazas shiner (''Notropis calabazas'') and fleshylip buffalo (''Ictiobus labiosus''). Additionally, a couple of still-
undescribed species In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...
are known from this river basin. A few of the endemics are seriously threatened.


See also

* Tampico Bridge * List of longest rivers of Mexico


References


Sources and external links


"Panuco"
Freshwater Ecoregions of the World *"Tales of Southern Rivers", by Zane Grey, 1924, True story of descent of Santa Rosa and Panuco Rivers {{DEFAULTSORT:Panuco Rivers of San Luis Potosí Rivers of Tamaulipas Rivers of Veracruz Drainage basins of the Gulf of Mexico Tampico