Choluteca River

Choluteca River
River
Choluteca River near the city of Choluteca
Country	Honduras
Source
- location	Choluteca, Choluteca, Honduras
Mouth	Pacific Ocean
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	349 km (217 mi)
Basin	7,681 km2 (2,966 sq mi)

The Choluteca River (Spanish: Río Grande o Choluteca) is a river in southern Honduras. Its source is in the department of Francisco Morazán, near Lepaterique (south-west Tegucigalpa), and from there it flows North through the city of Tegucigalpa, then South through the department of El Paraíso, and the department and city of Choluteca. The mouth of the river -located among wetland- is near the coastal town of Cedeño, on the Gulf of Fonseca.

According to FAO, the Choluteca River has 349 km of extension from his source to his mouth. Its hydrographic basin has an area of 7,681 km². ^[1] It increases his volume between May and October, together with the rainy season. Its basin is affected by severe drought together with El Niño phenomenon, and this is usually associated with severe bush fires.

There are no dams built along the main course of the river to leave it to its natural health^{[citation needed]}.

The flooding of this river was a major source of destruction in Hurricane Mitch in 1998. It washed out entire neighborhoods in Tegucigalpa, and eventually swelled to six times its normal size in Choluteca. There it destroyed neighborhoods and part of the commercial center. Further down it also devastated the tiny Morolica, where it not only destructed the entire hamlet but nearly all its inhabitants died or disappeared.

See also

• Rivers of Honduras
• Water Resources Management: The Choluteca river basin in Honduras
• Water Resources Management in Honduras

References

1. ^ "Honduras - Geografía y Población". FAO. 2000. http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries/honduras/indexesp.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-25.