The Patía River () is a river in southwestern

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. It flows over to drain into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

north of

Tumaco Tumaco is a port city and municipality in the Nariño Department, Colombia, by the Pacific Ocean. It is located on the southwestern corner of Colombia, near the border with Ecuador, and experiences a hot tropical climate. Tumaco is inhabited main ...

. The Patía River is the longest river on the Colombian Pacific Coast. The last is navigable by boat.

Geography

The Patía River begins in the Department of Cauca south of the city of

Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in the Pubenza Valley in southwestern Colombia between the Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range. The municipality has a population of 318,059, an a ...

near the town of Timbío. The source of the river begins in the gap between the West Andes and Central Andes very near the source of the

Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangué in Bolívar Department, an ...

. The Patía river flows westward from the Central massif of Colombia, cuts through the Western Cordillera and drains into the

. In its upper section it runs through cloud forests and montane forests. The central section of the river flows through the

Patía Valley dry forests The Patía Valley dry forests (NT0225) is an ecoregion in southwestern Colombia. It covers a dry valley surrounded by mountains. The original habitat has mostly been destroyed by human activity, although a few pockets remain. Location The Patía V ...

ecoregion. The lower section to the west of the Western Cordillera flows through the Chocó jungles of the Pacific region. The Patía is fed by the Quilcacé, Guachicono, Mayo, Juanambú, Pasto and Guaitara rivers. An 1853 watercolor by Manuel María Paz shows a mestizo or indigenous family on horseback herding cattle in a field near the Patía River.

References

*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993. Rivers of Colombia {{Colombia-river-stub

Geography

See also

References