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The Pánuco River (, ), also known as the Río de Canoas, is a river in Mexico fed by several tributaries including the Moctezuma River and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The river is approximately long and passes through or borders the states of Mexico, Hidalgo, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz. According to the Atlas of Mexico, it is the fourth-largest river in Mexico by volume of runoff, and forms the sixth-largest river basin in Mexico by area.
Description
thumb|left|Pánuco River, a.k.a. Río de Canoas. Copper-plate engraving from Dutch artist [[Jan Karel Donatus van Beecq.]]
thumb|left|Boat on Pánuco River at [[Tampico]]
The Pánuco River drains a basin of 98,227 km<sup>2</sup>, which includes portions of the Mexican Plateau, the Sierra Madre Oriental, and the Gulf Coastal Plain.
The Pánuco is formed by the confluence of its two main tributaries, the Moctezuma and the Tampaón (or Tamuín).
The Moctezuma originates on the Mexican Plateau, and its headwater streams include the Tula River. It runs northward, forming the state border between Hidalgo and Querétaro as it moves toward San Luis Potosí, before turning eastward to carve a deep canyon through the Sierra Madre Oriental. Once emerging onto the Gulf Coastal Plain, it runs northeastwards, joined from the south by the Tempoal River before joining the Tamuin in Veracruz.
Climate
The Pánuco basin has a subtropical climate. The climate east of the Sierra ranges from semi-arid in the north and subhumid in the south, with average annual rainfall ranging from 800 mm in drier north up to 3000 mm in the south. The eastward-facing slopes of the Sierra generate orographic precipitation. The Mexican Plateau is in the rain shadow of the Sierra Madre Oriental, and has an arid to semi-arid climate, with an average annual rainfall of 300 mm. There are many endemics: six Nosferatu cichlid species, five Tampichthys minnows, nine "northern swordtails" (genus Xiphophorus), three Gambusia species, two Ictalurus catfish, the bluetail goodeid (Ataeniobius toweri), dusky splitfin (Goodea gracilis), relict splitfin (Xenoophorus captivus), pygmy shiner (Notropis tropicus), checkered pupfish (Cualac tessellatus), broadspotted molly (Poecilia latipunctata), Tamasopo cichlid (Herichthys tamasopoensis), Calabazas shiner (Notropis calabazas) and fleshylip buffalo (Ictiobus labiosus). A few of the endemics are seriously threatened.
See also
- Tampico Bridge
- List of longest rivers of Mexico
References
Sources and external links
- "Panuco", Freshwater Ecoregions of the World
- "Tales of Southern Rivers", by Zane Grey, 1924, True story of descent of Santa Rosa and Panuco Rivers