The Samalá is a river in southwestern Guatemala. Its sources are in the

Sierra Madre Sierra Madre (Spanish, 'mother mountain range') may refer to: Places and mountains Mexico *Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona *Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range in northeastern Mexico *S ...

, Valle De Écija range, in the departments of

Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is both the seat of the namesake Department and municipality, in Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may ...

and

Totonicapán Totonicapán is a city in Guatemala. It serves as the capital of the department of Totonicapán and as the administrative seat for the surrounding municipality of Totonicapán. History In 1838 Totonicapam was declared an independent republic ...

. From there it flows down, past the towns

San Carlos Sija San Carlos Sija is a municipality in Quetzaltenango department of 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 wes ...

in the Valle De Écija,

San Cristóbal Totonicapán San Cristóbal Totonicapán is a town, with a population of 36,119,Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & to ...

, El Palmar and

Zunil Zunil () is a town and municipality in the Quetzaltenango department of Guatemala with a surface area of .Retalhuleu The city of Retalhuleu () is situated in south-western Guatemala. It is the departmental seat of Retalhuleu Department as well as the municipal seat of Retalhuleu Municipality. Retalhuleu stands at about 240 metres above sea level. The city has a ...

into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The Samalá river basin covers a territory of and has a population of around 400,000 people. Its proximity to the active Santa Maria and Santiaguito volcano complex, with its recurring

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

and

lahars A lahar (, from jv, ꦮ꧀ꦭꦲꦂ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. Lahars are extremel ...

flows, leads to a heightened risk of serious flooding.

External links

References

Rivers of Guatemala Geography of the Totonicapán Department Geography of the Quetzaltenango Department Geography of the Retalhuleu Department {{Guatemala-river-stub