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The Apurímac River ( ; , ; from Quechua ''apu'' 'chief' and ''rimaq'' 'the one who speaks, oracle', thus 'the chief oracle') rises from glacial meltwater of the ridge of the Mismi, a mountain in the Arequipa Province in the south-western mountain ranges of 
After , the Apurímac joins the Mantaro River and becomes the Ene River, above sea level; then after joining the Perené River at above sea level, it becomes the Tambo River; when it joins the Urubamba at above sea level the river becomes the Ucayali, which is the main headstream of the Amazon. Sometimes the complete river from its source to its junction with the Ucayali, including the rivers Ene and Tambo, is called "Apurímac", with a total length of .
In the 13th century, the Inca constructed a bridge over this river which gave them access to the west.Jonathan Norton Leonard, "Ancient America", Great Ages of Man Series published by Time/Life Books, 1968 p 185 Erected around 1350, the bridge was still in use in 1864, and dilapidated but still hanging in 1890. It was the basis for the titular bridge in Thornton Wilder's 1927 novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey''. One such bridge, Queshuachaca, is reassembled on an annual basis.
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, from the village Caylloma, and less than from the Pacific coast. It flows generally northwest past Cusco in narrow gorges with depths of up to , almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile ().
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...
, its course interrupted by falls and rapids. Of the six attempts to travel the full length of the Apurímac so far, only two have been successful.
After , the Apurímac joins the Mantaro River and becomes the Ene River, above sea level; then after joining the Perené River at above sea level, it becomes the Tambo River; when it joins the Urubamba at above sea level the river becomes the Ucayali, which is the main headstream of the Amazon. Sometimes the complete river from its source to its junction with the Ucayali, including the rivers Ene and Tambo, is called "Apurímac", with a total length of .
In the 13th century, the Inca constructed a bridge over this river which gave them access to the west.Jonathan Norton Leonard, "Ancient America", Great Ages of Man Series published by Time/Life Books, 1968 p 185 Erected around 1350, the bridge was still in use in 1864, and dilapidated but still hanging in 1890. It was the basis for the titular bridge in Thornton Wilder's 1927 novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey''. One such bridge, Queshuachaca, is reassembled on an annual basis.
See also
* Aqumayu * Choquequirao * Hatun Wayq'u * Majes-Siguas * Source of the Amazon River * Arequipa ProvinceReferences
Further reading
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Apurimac Tributaries of the Ucayali River Rivers of Peru Rivers of the Department of Cusco Rivers of the Department of Apurímac