The Lacantún River is a river in
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil and Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 124 municipalities ...
state of southern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
. It is a tributuary 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 Lacantún originates in the
Chiapas Highlands, and runs southeastwards nearly to the
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 west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
n border, where it turns northeastwards to join 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 ...
. Its main highlands tributary is the
Jataté River.
The lower portion of the river runs through the
Lacandon Forest. Its tributary the
Ixcán River
The Ixcán River is a river in Guatemala. The river flows northwards from its sources in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes in Huehuetenango, marks the border with El Quiché for a number of kilometers, and crosses the border with Mexico at 16.074929 ...
, which originates in the Guatemalan Highlands to the south, joins the Lacantún near where it turns northwards. The Lacantún forms the southern boundary of
Montes Azules and
Lacan-Tun biosphere reserves before joining the Usumacinta.
See also
*
List of rivers of Mexico
References
*Atlas of Mexico, 1975 (https://web.archive.org/web/20111107163257/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_mexico/river_basins.jpg).
*The Prentice Hall American World Atlas, 1984.
*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993.
Rivers of Chiapas
Usumacinta River
Petén–Veracruz moist forests
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