| Coatzacoalcos | |
|---|---|
 Approaching the mouth of the river from the Gulf of Mexico. The city of Coatzacoalcos is to starboard, and Allende to port. (2011) | |
 | |
  Location of mouth | |
| Etymology | "where serpent hides" (Nahuatl) |
| Location | |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Oaxaca, Veracruz |
| Region | Isthmus of Tehuantepec |
| Cities | Matías Romero, Minatitlán, Nanchital, Coatzacoalcos |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • coordinates | 16°56′44″N 94°37′1″W / 16.94556°N 94.61694°W |
| Mouth | |
• coordinates | 18°9′56″N 94°24′50″W / 18.16556°N 94.41389°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 325 km (202 mi) |
| Basin size | 17,563 km2 (6,781 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 1,163 m3/s (41,100 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Sarabia, Jaltepec |
| • right | El Corte, Uxpanapa |
| [1] | |
The Coatzacoalcos is a large river that feeds mainly the south part of the state of Veracruz; it originates in the Sierra de Niltepec and crosses the state of Oaxaca in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, flowing for 325 kilometres (202 miles)[1][2] toward the Gulf of Mexico. Tributaries include El Corte, Sarabia, Jaltepec, Chalchijalpa, El Chiquito, Uxpanapa, and Calzadas. The merging of all these rivers creates one of the largest current flows in the entire region. Two-thirds of the streams are navigable.
Juan de Grijalva's 1518 expedition encountered the river.[3]: 34 Hernán Cortés sent Diego de Ordaz to explore the river as a possible port.[3]: 266–268
- ^ a b "Estadísticas por tema" (in Spanish). INEGI. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ Coatzacoalcos River. The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. 2000 Archived 2 July 2004 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, ISBN 0140441239