The Xalbal River () is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

of Guatemala. Its sources are in the

Sierra de los Cuchumatanes The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes is the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. Its elevations range from to over , and it covers a total area of .Lovell 2005:11 With an area of situated above , it is also the most extensive hig ...

(at ) in the department of

El Quiché EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American p ...

, where the river is called Río Xaclbal or Río Chajul. The Xaclbal river flows northwards down the tropical lowlands of Ixcan where it is called Río Xalbal (at ), and crosses the border with

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 ...

, where it joins the

Lacantún River The Lacantún River is a river in Chiapas state of southern Mexico. It is a tributuary of the Usumacinta River. The Lacantún originates in the Chiapas Highlands, and runs southeastwards nearly to the Guatemalan border, where it turns northeastwar ...

, a tributary of the

Usumacinta river 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 ...

. The Guatemalan part of Xaclbal river basin covers an area of . The village of Xalbal, named after the river, suffered a massacre in 1982. The village was abandoned in March 1982.''Journeys of Fear: Refugee Return and National Transformation in Guatemala''
pp.104, Retrieved February 24, 2008

References

External links

Map of Guatemala including the river
Rivers of Guatemala Geography of Mesoamerica International rivers of North America {{Guatemala-river-stub