The Ene River (; ) is a

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 ...

vian

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 ...

on the eastern slopes of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. It is a

headwater The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

of the Amazon River.

Geography

Headwaters

The Ene is formed at at the confluence of the Mantaro River and the Apurímac River, circa 400 m above sea level, where the three Peruvian Regions Junín,

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

, and Ayacucho meet. The river flows in a northwesterly direction at a total length of . The Ene River is part of the

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

of the Amazon River whose origin is at the Mismi, south of the city of

where it first becomes Apurímac River, then the Ene River and Tambo River before its waters meet the

Ucayali River The Ucayali River (, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón river, Marañón close to Nauta city. The city of ...

which later forms the Amazon. At the Ene River joins the Perené River at the town Puerto Prado, above sea level, and is called the Tambo from then on.

Threats

The proposed 2,200-megawatt Pakitzapango hydroelectric dam would flood much of the Ene River valley. Protests by the Central Ashaninka del Rio Ene (CARE, Asháninka Center of the Ene River) and Ruth Buendia (president since 2005) have halted the construction. For her efforts, Buendia was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2014.

References

External links

* Ene Tributaries of the Ucayali River Rivers of the Department of Cusco Rivers of the Department of Junín Rivers of the Department of Ayacucho {{Peru-river-stub