Río Grande de Santiago
| Río Grande de Santiago | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country |
 Mexico
|
| Basin features | |
| Main source | Lake Chapala |
| River mouth | Pacific Ocean at San Blas / Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit |
| Basin size | 136,628 square kilometres (52,752 sq mi) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Length | 433 km (269 mi) |
| Discharge |
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The Río Grande de Santiago is one of the longest rivers in Mexico, measuring up 433 km (269 mi) long. The river begins at Lake Chapala and continues roughly north-west through the Sierra Madre Occidental, receiving the Verde, Juchipila, Bolaños, and other tributaries. At La Yesca, the La Yesca Dam was completed in 2012 and the El Cajón Dam was completed downstream in 2007. Below El Cajón, the Aguamilpa Dam was completed in 1993, creating a reservoir covering a large part of the territory of the municipality of El Nayar in Nayarit. From Aguamilpa, the river descends to the coastal lowlands, passing by Santiago Ixcuintla and empties into the Pacific Ocean, 16 km (10 mi) northwest of San Blas, in Nayarit. The river is viewed by some sources as a continuation of the Lerma River, which flows into Lake Chapala.
Mexico possesses a small percentage of the world’s freshwater reserve, 0.1%. According to an article named Water use (and abuse) and its effects on the crater-lake Valle de Santiago, Mexico “most Mexican lakes are in an advanced state of desiccation or senescence, with volumes and surface area greatly reduced because of human activities” (page 145). Some examples of these damaging activities are wood cutting, inflow diversion for agriculture, groundwater over extraction, pollution and eutrophication. Together Rio Lerma Santiago is a little over 600 miles long, but alone Rio Santiago is reported to be 269 miles long. It is an extension of the Lerma River, which at 466 miles long it is one of Mexico’s longest rivers. The water begins in the Mexican Plateau in Mexico City. Then travels westward and goes through the Lerma River, and empties in Lake Chapala, near Guadalajara. From there the water flows southward through Rio Santiago and dissipates to the Pacific Ocean near San Blas, in Nayarit. According to an article named Impacts from contamination of the Santiago River on the well-being of the inhabitants of El Salto, Jalisco the river passes by “Ocotlán, Poncitlán, Atequiza, Atotonilquillo, Juanacatlán, ,El Salto, Tonalá among others” (Gonzalez and Hernandez, page 711). Less than 50 years ago the river was once a place to fish, bathe, and swim. It is now a river full of pollutants, with a smell that can only be described as worse than rotten eggs. This river is not the most polluted river ever but it is one of the worst polluted in Mexico. It doesn’t only hurt locals, but all of Mexico which rely on the river for water supply and food.
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Wikipedia