The Lempa River ( es, Río Lempa) is a river in Central America.
Geography
Its sources are located in between the Sierra Madre and the
Sierra del Merendón
Sierra del Merendón is a mountain range extending on the eastern border of Guatemala and Honduras. Its south-western border is marked by the Lempa River valley, its northern border by the Motagua River valley. The mountain range has several dif ...
in southern
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 H ...
, near the town of
Olopa Olopa is a municipality in the Chiquimula department of Guatemala. The municipality comprises an area of 112 km2, distributed in 1 town (Olopa) and 29 villages, with a total population of 27,511. In Guatemala the river is called ''Río Olopa'' and flows southwards for before entering
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
and changing its name to Lempa river at . In Honduras it flows through
Ocotepeque Department
Ocotepeque is one of the 18 departments of Honduras, Central America, located in the West and bordering both El Salvador and Guatemala. It was formed in 1906 from part of Copán department. The capital and main city is Nueva Ocotepeque.
The depar ...
for , and crosses the border with
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
at the town of
Citalá
Citalá is a municipality in the Chalatenango department
Chalatenango () is a department of El Salvador, located in the northwest of the country. The capital is the city of Chalatenango. The Chalatenango Department encompasses 2,017 km² ...
() in the department of Chalatenango. The river continues its course for another in El Salvador, flowing in a generally southwards direction until it reaches the Pacific Ocean in the department of San Vicente. The river forms a small part of the international boundary between El Salvador and Honduras.
The river's
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
covers , of which (56 percent) is in El Salvador, in Honduras and in Guatemala. Forty-nine percent of El Salvador's territory is covered by the Lempa river basin, and 77.5 percent of the Salvadoran population lives in cities, towns, and villages that are in its basin, including the capital city of
San Salvador
San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...
.
Hydroelectricity
There are several hydroelectric dams along the river. In El Salvador there is the Guayojo dam, the Cerrón Grande Hydroelectric Dam, the 5 de Noviembre dam, and the 15 de Septiembre dam which can be easily seen from the Pan-American highway.
List of rivers of Honduras
Rivers in Honduras is a list of the rivers in Honduras, including those it shares with neighbours. Among the most important river in Honduras is the Ulúa, which flows through the economically important Valle de Sula. Numerous other rivers drain ...