Río Grande de Loíza
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The Rio Grande de Loíza ( English: ''Great River of Loíza'', ''Grande de Loíza'', or just ''Loíza River'') is a river in the island of Puerto Rico. It is the largest river in Puerto Rico by discharge volume. It is situated on the north coast of the island. It flows from south to north and drains into the Atlantic Ocean, a few miles east 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), ...
. ''Rio Grande de Loíza'' runs for approximately . It has its origin in the municipality of
San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...
at an altitude of approximately above sea level. It runs through the municipalities of San Lorenzo, Caguas, Gurabo,
Trujillo Alto Trujillo Alto (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Trujil ...
,
Carolina Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in ...
, Canóvanas and Loíza, forming the Loíza Lake along its route, making it the second longest river on the island, behind Río de la Plata.


Geography

The Rio Grande de Loíza basin is the largest in Puerto Rico with an area of 289.9 square miles. The source of the river is located in the Espino barrio of
San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico San Lorenzo (, ; Spanish for "''Saint Lawrence"'') is a San Lorenzo barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located in the eastern central region, north of Patillas, Puerto Rico, Patillas and Yabucoa, Pu ...
on the eastern slopes of the
Sierra de Cayey Sierra de Cayey is a mountain range in the main island of Puerto Rico. It is located in the southeast section of the island. Its elevations do not exceed 1000 m (3,280 ft.). The Grande de Loíza, which is one of the most important rivers in Puer ...
mountain range, close to
Carite State Forest Carite State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Carite'') is a state forest and nature reserve located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range in southeastern Puerto Rico. The forest extends over approximately 6,500 acres and is located in the mu ...
. The river flows northeastwardly through the San Lorenzo
batholith A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, such ...
, a hilly region of intrusive igneous rock, where it meets with the tributaries of Emajagua and Cayaguas. From here, the river turns northwest towards the
Caguas Valley Caguas Valley (Spanish: ''Valle de Caguas''), or the Caguas-Juncos Valley and popularly referred to as the Turabo Valley (Spanish: ''Valle del Turabo''), is a large valley lying between the Central Mountain Range and the Sierra de Luquillo in the ...
where it meets numerous other rivers and creeks including the Turabo, Gurabo, Bairoa and Cagüitas rivers. North of this, the river is
dammed ''Dammed: The Politics of Loss and Survival in Anishinaabe Territory'' is a 2020 book by Brittany Luby, Associate Professor of History at the University of Guelph. The book charts the impacts of the damming of the Winnipeg River in the Lake of ...
and flows through the reservoir Loíza Lake (also known as Carraízo Lake, after the
barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...
of
Trujillo Alto Trujillo Alto (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Trujil ...
it is located in). The river finally flows into San Juan's urban area and the Northern Plain of Puerto Rico where it discharges into the Atlantic Ocean.


History

The river is of historical importance due to the number of settlements, cities and towns that were founded along it such as
San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...
, Caguas and
Trujillo Alto Trujillo Alto (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Trujil ...
. In the 1898 ''Military Notes on Puerto Rico'' by the U.S. it is written that the "''limits of the Loisa River are: On the east, the sierra of Luquillo (situated near the northeast corner of the island); on the south, the sierra of Cayey, and on the west, ramifications of the latter. It rises in the northern slopes of the sierra of Cayey, and, running in a northwest direction for the first half of its course and turning to northeast in the second half, it arrives at Loisa, a port on the northern coast, where it discharges its waters into the Atlantic. During the first part of its course, it is known by the name of Cayagua''." The river was commemorated in a poem by Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos. In mid 2018, the United States Army Corps of Engineers announced it would be undertaking a major flood control project of the river, with a budget of $250 million.


List of features


San Lorenzo

* Espino * Quebrada Honda * San Lorenzo (Pueblo)


Gurabo

* Navarro


Caguas

* Caguas (Pueblo)


Trujillo Alto

*
Carraízo Carraízo is a barrio in the municipality of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 16,399. History Carraízo was in Spain's gazetteers until Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the ...
* Loíza Lake and
Carraízo Dam Carraízo Dam is a concrete gravity dam located in the municipality of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico within the flow of the Río Grande de Loíza. Its construction was completed in 1953. Carraízo Dam impounds Loíza Lake which serves as Puerto Ric ...
* Trujillo Alto (Pueblo)


Carolina

* Carolina (Pueblo) *
Trujillo Bajo Trujillo Bajo is a barrio in the municipality of Carolina, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 8,805. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and be ...


Canóvanas

* Canóvanas (Pueblo) * Santa Bárbara


Loíza

* Loíza (Pueblo)


Gallery

File:Carolina, Puerto Rico - panoramio.jpg, Aerial view of the Loíza River in Canóvanas and Loíza. File:Carraízo, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico - panoramio.jpg, View of the river in Carraízo, Trujillo Alto close to the reservoir. File:Hortense flooding.jpg, Flooding of the Loíza River's dam during
Hurricane Hortense Hurricane Hortense was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico since Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and the second most intense hurricane during the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season. The eighth tropical cyclone, eighth na ...
. File:2021riograndedeloizadesdejaguas.jpg, Loíza River in the
Caguas Valley Caguas Valley (Spanish: ''Valle de Caguas''), or the Caguas-Juncos Valley and popularly referred to as the Turabo Valley (Spanish: ''Valle del Turabo''), is a large valley lying between the Central Mountain Range and the Sierra de Luquillo in the ...
. File:ISS016-E-18387 - View of Puerto Rico.jpg, View of the Loíza River in Puerto Rico's northeastern plains from the International Space Station.


See also

*
Puente de Trujillo Alto The Puente de Trujillo Alto is a Pennsylvania through truss bridge built during 1939–1941 in Puerto Rico in the Trujillo Alto municipality of Puerto Rico. At was the longest single-span bridge in Puerto Rico. The bridge construction was fun ...
: NRHP listing in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico * List of rivers of Puerto Rico


References


External links


USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region (1974)
Rivers of Puerto Rico {{PuertoRico-river-stub