La Vieja River () is a river in the
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 ...
n departments of
Quindío,
Valle del Cauca and
Risaralda. It is a major tributary 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 river is formed by the joining of the
Quindío River
Quindío River () is the principal river of the department of Quindío Department, Quindío, Colombia. It combines with the Barragán River at the Valle de Maravelez to form La Vieja River, in turn a tributary of the Cauca River.
Quindío River I ...
and the
Barragán River Barragan or Barragán may refer to:
*Barragán (surname), with a list of people of this name (includes 'Barragan')
*List_of_Hollows_in_Bleach#Baraggan Louisenbairn, Barragan Luisenbarn, the second espada in the manga ''Bleach''
*Barragán (Blonde R ...
in an area known as the Valle de Maravelez. It has a length of and flows in a northwesterly direction, meeting the Cauca River approximately north of
Cartago. Major tributaries include the Roble, Consota, Barbas, Espejo and Pijao rivers. La Vieja forms the limit between the departments of Quindío and Valle del Cauca; it also forms part of the limit between Risaralda and Valle del Cauca.
The river basin has an area of and includes the entire department of Quindío. Although Cartago is the only major urban area situated directly on the river, the cities of
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
and
Pereira are located in its watershed. The average river flow is .
Recreational use of the river includes the increasingly popular tourist activity ''balsaje'', in which groups of up to 16 people explore the slow-flowing river in large rafts made of
guadua
''Guadua'' is a Neotropical genus of thorny, clumping bamboo in the grass family, ranging from moderate to very large species.
Physically, '' Guadua angustifolia'' is noted for being the largest Neotropical bamboo. The genus is similar to ''Bam ...
. The majority of these excursions depart from Puerto Samaria in the municipality of
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
, Quindío, and arrive at Puerto Alejandrino in neighboring
Quimbaya
The Quimbaya () were a small, ancient indigenous group in present-day Colombia noted for their gold work characterized by technical accuracy and detailed designs. The majority of the gold work is made in ''tumbaga'' alloy, with 30% copper, whi ...
. The number of participants has grown from 400 in 2000 to over 11,000 in 2003, and at least a dozen firms are offering this service.
La Vieja has significant contamination problems, primarily due to inadequate
wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater. It thus converts it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once back in the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on ...
in its watershed.
References
Corporación Autónoma Regional del Quindío (2005)
Proyecto Ordenacion y Manejo de la Cuenca del Río La Vieja{Dead link, date=February 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes (in Spanish)
Rivers of Colombia