The La Plata River ( es, Río de la Plata) is the longest river in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. It is located in the north coast of the island. It flows from south to north, and drains into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

about west of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

. The mouth of the river is a resort area with white sandy beaches. La Plata has a length of approximately 46 miles with its origin in the municipality of

Guayama, Puerto Rico Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) is a city and municipality on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the ce ...

, at an altitude of approximately above sea level. It crosses the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) is a city and municipality on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the c ...

Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sal ...

, Comerío, Naranjito, Toa Alta,

Toa Baja Toa Baja (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast, north of Toa Alta and Bayamón; east of Dorado; and west of Cataño. Toa Baja is spread over five barrios, including Toa Baja Pueblo (the downtown area and ...

, and

Dorado Dorado () is a constellation in the southern sky. It was named in the late 16th century and is now one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name refers to the dolphinfish (''Coryphaena hippurus''), which is known as ''dorado'' in Spanish, altho ...

forming two lakes in its path:

Carite Lake Lago Carite is a lake located in the municipality of Guayama on the island of Puerto Rico. The lake was created in 1913 La Plata Lake Lago La Plata is a lake located between the municipalities of Naranjito, Toa Alta, and Bayamón in Puerto Rico. The lake was created in 1973 and serves as a reservoir for potable water. The lake receives flow from the La Plata River and can b ...

. There are many crossings of the river. The

Arenas Bridge The Arenas Bridge is a truss bridge built in 1894 between the municipalities of Cayey and Cidra in Puerto Rico. Also known as Puente Rio La Plata, it was the longest bridge constructed in Puerto Rico during the Spanish colonial period. It cros ...

, in Cayey, is one of the most notable. It is a steel bridge built in 1894 and is still in use. It was the longest bridge built in Puerto Rico by the Spanish. Another notable bridge that passes over the river is the

Jesús Izcoa Moure bridge The Jesús Izcoa Moure Bridge ''(Officially: Puente Atirantado de Naranjito, Jesús Izcoa Moure'') is a Cable-stayed bridge that connects the cities of Toa Alta and Naranjito, in Puerto Rico by the Puerto Rico Highway 5. It was named after Je ...

, a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...

which straddles the city borders of Naranjito, Toa Alta and Bayamon. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Army Corps of Engineers is undertaking a major

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

project in the river basin.

History

It is popularly said that

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

Indians referred to the river as ''"thoa"'' which means

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

, which itself gave the name to the towns of Toa Alta and

located in the mouth of the river to the

Cultural references

The river is referenced on the

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

of the town of Toa Baja.

Hurricane Maria

The river, which runs through the heart of Comerio, rose more than 11 feet on September 20, 2017 (

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5, Category 5 Tropical cyclone, hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the wo ...

) causing major flooding and irreparable destruction to areas along the river. It destroyed the school, the police station, countless homes and businesses in Comerio, and other municipalities along the river.

Flood control project

In mid 2018, the

Army Corps of Engineers announced it would be undertaking a major

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

control project of the river basin, with a $500 million budget. By mid 2019, a project by the USACE to mitigate the flooding risk to Toa Baja by The Plata River had not yet begun.

Gallery

Ohio National Guard (37725039486).jpg, Dam at Río de la Plata in Comerío Calle Méndez Vigo in Dorado, Puerto Rico 14.jpg, Bridge on Calle Méndez Vigo over Río de la Plata in Dorado Río de la Plata from Calle Méndez Vigo in Dorado, Puerto Rico.jpg, Río de la Plata from Bridge on Calle Méndez Vigo in Dorado View from bridge on Calle Méndez Vigo in Dorado, Puerto Rico.jpg, View of river from bridge on Calle Méndez Vigo in Dorado

References

External links

USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region (1974)

- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers {{DEFAULTSORT:Plata (Puerto Rico), Rio De La Rivers of Puerto Rico Cayey, Puerto Rico Guayama metropolitan area