The Ameca River () is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

of some in length in western

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It originates in the Bosque de la Primavera in

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

, 23 km to the west of state capital

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

; flows through the city of Ameca; and then forms the boundary between

and

Nayarit Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...

on its way to 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 ...

, where it drains into the Bahía de Banderas at

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara Metro ...

. Its main tributaries are the Ahuacatlán and Amatlán de Cañas. The Ameca has been dammed just north of the town of La Vega, Jalisco, forming a reservoir, the Lago La Vega which extends northward to the town of

Teuchitlán Teuchitlán is a town and municipalities of Jalisco, municipality in Jalisco, central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 219.1 km2 and is from Guadalajara, the capital city. As of 2005, the municipality had a total populatio ...

Fish

Several species of fish are only found in the Ameca River basin: the butterfly splitfin, Tequila splitfin, finescale splitfin, banded allotoca, golden skiffia, Amatlan chub, Ameca chub and Ameca shiner. All these are highly

threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

. The Tequila splitfin, finescale splitfin and golden skiffia are likely already

extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as only consisting of living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range ...

; but all three survive in captivity. The butterfly splitfin and banded allotoca were also thought to be extinct in the wild, but have since been rediscovered. The Ameca shiner was once feared entirely extinct, but it too survives in captivity. A reintroduction project for the shiner and Tequila splitfin was initiated in 2015.

References

Rivers of Jalisco Rivers of Nayarit Puerto Vallarta Rivers of Mexico Rivers of the Sierra Madre Occidental {{Mexico-river-stub