The Zamora River ( Spanish: ''Río Zamora'') is a tributary of the Santiago River located in the south-east of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. Historically, it was known to the Spanish as ''Yaya Mayu'' ("Father River"), from the river's name among a group of

Shuar The Shuar are an Indigenous people of Ecuador and Peru. They are members of the Jivaroan peoples, who are Amazonian tribes living at the headwaters of the Marañón River. Name Shuar, in the Shuar language, means "people". The people who speak ...

encountered nearby. The sources of the Zamora River are in the

Podocarpus National Park Podocarpus National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Podocarpus) is a national park located in the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Loja Province, Loja, in the south-east of Ecuador. It was created in 1982. It covers 1462.80 km2, from two spur ...

, specifically at the Nudo de Cajanuma. The river then descends towards the city of Loja. It crosses the provinces of Loja,

Zamora-Chinchipe Zamora Chinchipe (), Province of Zamora Chinchipe is a province of the Republic of Ecuador, located at the southeastern end of the Amazon Basin, which shares borders with the Ecuadorian provinces of Azuay and Morona Santiago to the north, Loja a ...

(wherein lies the city of Zamora) and

Morona-Santiago Morona Santiago () is a province in Ecuador. The province was established on February 24, 1954. The capital is Macas. Economy The provincial economy is industrially unexploited to its potential due to poor means of transportation. Its economy ...

, where it empties into the Santiago.

Tributaries

The Zamora is the dominant river in southeastern Ecuador, and has many tributaries, perhaps the source of its native name . The most significant tributaries by province include: ;Loja Province * Malacatos River * Jipiro River * Zamora Huayco River ;Zamora-Chinchipe Province * Tambo Blanco River * San Francisco River * Sabanilla River * Bombuscaro River * Jamboé River * Nambija River * Yacuambi River * Chicaña River * Nangaritza River * Pachicutza River * Chuchumbletza River ;Morona-Santiago Province * Bomboiza River *

Bobonaza River The Bobonaza River is a river in Ecuador. It drains into the Pastaza River, and ultimately (via the Marañón River) into the Amazon River at Iquitos in Peru. Its course runs mostly through Amazonian tropical rainforest, much of which is still sp ...

Tributaries

See also