The Samalá is a river in southwestern Guatemala. Its sources are in the Sierra Madre, Valle De Écija range, in the departments of

Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is a municipality and namesake department in western Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may reach above ...

and

Totonicapán Totonicapán is a city in Guatemala. It serves as the capital of the department of Totonicapán and as the administrative seat for the surrounding municipality of Totonicapán. History In 1838 Totonicapán was declared an independent republic ...

. From there it flows down, past the towns San Carlos Sija in the Valle De Écija,

San Cristóbal Totonicapán San Cristóbal Totonicapán is a town, with a population of 36,119,Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & to ...

, El Palmar and

Zunil Zunil () is a town and municipality in the Quetzaltenango department of Guatemala with a surface area of .Retalhuleu The city of Retalhuleu () is situated in south-western Guatemala. It is the departmental seat of Retalhuleu Department as well as the municipal seat of Retalhuleu Municipality. Retalhuleu stands at about 240 metres above sea level. The city has ...

into 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 ...

. The Samalá river basin covers a territory of 1,510 km² (580 sq ml) and has a population of around 0.4 million people. Its proximity to the active Santa Maria and Santiaguito volcano complex, with its recurring

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

and

lahars A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. Lahars are often extremely destructiv ...

flows, leads to a heightened risk of serious flooding.

External links

References

Rivers of Guatemala Geography of the Totonicapán Department Geography of the Quetzaltenango Department Geography of the Retalhuleu Department {{Guatemala-river-stub