Grijalva River, formerly known as ''Tabasco River'', ( es, Río Grijalva, known locally also as Río Grande de Chiapas, Río Grande and Mezcalapa River) is a long

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

in southeastern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

."Grijalva." ''

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary'' (''Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', ''Webster's New Geographical Dictionary'') is a gazetteer by the publisher Merriam-Webster. The latest edition was released in 2001, edited by Daniel J. Hopkins ...

'', 3rd ed. 2001. () Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., p. 450. It is named after

Juan de Grijalva Juan de Grijalva (; born c. 1490 in Cuéllar, Crown of Castile – 21 January 1527 in Honduras) was a Spanish conquistador, and a relative of Diego Velázquez.Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, He went to Hispanio ...

who visited the area in 1518. The river rises from Río Grande de Chiapas in southeastern Chiapas and flows from Chiapas to the state of

Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...

through the

Sumidero Canyon Sumidero Canyon ( es, Cañón del Sumidero) is a deep natural canyon located just north of the city of Chiapa de Corzo in the state of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. The canyon's creation began around the same time as the Grand Canyon in the U.S. ...

into the Bay of Campeche. Begins as "Río Grande de Chiapas" or "Río Mezcalapa", later, Río Grande is stopped at the

Angostura Dam (Mexico) The Angostura Dam (officially known as the Belisario Domínguez Dam) is an embankment dam and hydroelectric power station on the Grijalva River near Venustiano Carranza in Chiapas, Mexico. The dam's power plant contains 5 x 180 MW, 3 x 310 MW ...

, one of the largest reservoirs in Mexico, and then its course is now named "Grijalva River". The river's drainage basin is in size. Because of the close connection to the

Usumacinta River The Usumacinta River (; named after the howler monkey) is a river in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. It is formed by the junction of the Pasión River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz (in Guatemala) and the Salinas ...

(the two combine, flowing into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

in a single delta), they are often regarded as a single

river basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

, the Grijalva-Usumacinta River. Río Grande de Chiapas rises into

Sierra de los Cuchumatanes The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes is the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. Its elevations range from to over , and it covers a total area of .Lovell 2005:11 With an area of situated above , it is also the most extensive hig ...

, Guatemala; in Guatemala receives the name "

Selegua River The Seleguá () is a river in Guatemala. The river flows northwards from its sources in the highlands of Huehuetenango, from Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, until it crosses the border with Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), of ...

" and also is a large river. After flowing from

Nezahualcoyotl Lake The Malpaso Dam, officially known as the Nezahualcóyotl Dam, is located in the Centro region of Chiapas, Mexico near the border with Tabasco and Veracruz. It was the first of several major dams built on the Grijalva River to generate hydroelectri ...

, an artificial lake created by the hydroelectric

Malpaso Dam The Malpaso Dam, officially known as the Nezahualcóyotl Dam, is located in the Centro region of Chiapas, Mexico near the border with Tabasco and Veracruz. It was the first of several major dams built on the Grijalva River to generate hydroelectri ...

, Grijalva River turns northward and eastward, roughly paralleling the Chiapas-Tabasco state border. It flows through

Villahermosa Villahermosa ( , ; "Beautiful Village") is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Tabasco, and serves as the municipal seat (governing county) of the state. Located in Southeast Mexico, Villahermosa is an important city because o ...

(where, in 2001, a new cable-stayed bridge was constructed to cross the river) and empties into the Gulf of Mexico, approximately northwest of Frontera. The river is navigable by shallow-draft boats for approximately upstream.

Gallery

Expedición de Girjalva 1518.svg, Juan de Grijalva, expedition in 1518. Discovery by the Europeans of the Grijalva River. Sketch of the River Tabasco 1847-1848 UTA.jpg, ''Sketch of the River Tabasco'', 1847-48 ReserviortowardsCanyonChicoasen.jpg ChicoasenDamClose.jpg,

Chicoasén Dam The Chicoasén Dam (officially known as Manuel Moreno Torres) is an embankment dam and hydroelectric power station on the Grijalva River near Chicoasén in Chiapas, Mexico. The dam's power plant, officially named for Manuel Moreno Torres, cont ...

MalpasoDam18.JPG,

Villahermosa Panorámica 3.jpg, Grijalva River flowing through

. Villahermosa Vista del Grijalva.jpg Centla Puente Frontera 2.jpg, Mouth

References

Rivers of Chiapas Rivers of Tabasco Petén–Veracruz moist forests {{Mexico-river-stub

Gallery

See also

References