Tecolutla River

Tecolutla River (Río Tecolutla)
Mouth of the Tecolutla River
Name origin: Classical Nahuatl: tecolotl, "owl" + lan, "place"
Country	Mexico
State	Veracruz
City	Gutiérrez Zamora
Source	Confluence of the Necaxa and Apulco Rivers
- location	Espinal, Veracruz, Mexico
- coordinates	20°14′31″N 97°26′20″W / 20.242°N 97.439°W
Mouth	Gulf of Mexico
- location	Tecolutla, Veracruz, Mexico
- coordinates	20°28′30″N 97°00′00″W / 20.475°N 97.000°WCoordinates: 20°28′30″N 97°00′00″W / 20.475°N 97.000°W
Length	375 km (233 mi) [1][lower-alpha 1]
Basin	7,903 km^2 (3,051 sq mi) [1]
Includes length of tributaries

The Tecolutla River is a river in the state of Veracruz in Mexico, and the main drainage of the historical and cultural region of Totonacapan.^[2] It is principally fed by four rivers that rise in the Sierra Norte de Puebla: from north to south, they are the Necaxa, the Lajajalpan (or Laxaxalpan), the Tecuantepec and the Apulco.^[3] These rivers confluence in the municipality of Espinal, Veracruz, and from here the Tecolutla flows about 100 kilometres (62 mi) east through the municipalities of Papantla and Gutiérrez Zamora to its mouth at the town of Tecolutla on the Gulf of Mexico.^[4]

The furthest source of the Tecolutla is the Arroyo Zapata, located 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Huamantla, Tlaxcala at an elevation of 3,500 metres (11,500 ft). This arroyo flows into the Coyuca River, which in turn drains into the Apulco.^[3] The total length of the river measured from this source is 375 kilometres (233 mi).^[1] The watershed drained by the Tecolutla covers an area of 7,903 square kilometres (3,051 sq mi).^[1]

The Tecolutla is considered one of the most well-preserved rivers in the state of Veracruz and its floodplains are agriculturally productive.^[5] In particular, vanilla was first cultivated by the Totonac in this area.

References

1. Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, ed. (June 2010). Statistics on Water in Mexico (PDF) (10th ed.). National Water Commission in Mexico (CONAGUA). p. 38. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
2. Valderrama Rouy, Pablo (2005). "The Totonac". Native Peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico. University of Arizona Press. p. 187. ISBN 0816524114.
3. "Hidrología" (PDF). Atlas del patrimonio natural, histórico y cultural de Veracruz (in Spanish). 1. Government of Veracruz. 2010. p. 97.
4. Kourí, Emilio (2004). A Pueblo Divided: Business, Property, and Community in Papantla, Mexico. Stanford University Press. p. 37. ISBN 0804739390.
5. "76. RÍO TECOLUTLA". Regiones hidrológicas prioritarias (in Spanish). Mexico: Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2016.