Las Vacas River
Encyclopedia
The Las Vacas River is a river in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

. It begins in the mountains in the eastern outskirts of Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...

 and runs in a north-easterly direction to join the Motagua River
Motagua River
The Motagua River is a long river in Guatemala. It rises in the western highlands of Guatemala where it is also called Río Grande, and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The final few kilometres of the river form part of the Guatemala/Honduras border...

 where the departmental borders of El Progreso
El Progreso
The municipality of El Progreso is located in the Honduran department of Yoro. Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport of San Pedro Sula is located west of the city. To the east of the city is the mountain range of Mico Quemado ....

, Baja Verapaz
Baja Verapaz
Baja Verapaz is a department in Guatemala. The capital is Salamá.Baja Verapaz houses the Mario Dary Biotope Preserve, preserving the native flora and fauna of the region, especially the endangered national bird of Guatemala, the Resplendent Quetzal....

 and Guatemala
Guatemala (department)
Guatemala is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. The capital is Guatemala City, which also serves as the national capital.The department covers a surface area of 2,126 km², and had a population of 2,541,581 at the 2002 census.- Municipalities :...

 converge. In its final kilometres the river marks the limits between the departments of Guatemala and El Progreso.

The river is a major outlet for Guatemala City's raw sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...

. Its highly polluted
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....

 waters contain little aquatic life, and contribute to the pollution of the Motagua river and the marine ecosystem
Marine ecosystem
Marine ecosystems are among the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems. They include oceans, salt marsh and intertidal ecology, estuaries and lagoons, mangroves and coral reefs, the deep sea and the sea floor. They can be contrasted with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine...

 in the Gulf of Honduras
Gulf of Honduras
The Gulf or Bay of Honduras is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. From north to south, it runs for approximately 200 km from Dangriga, Belize, to La Ceiba, Honduras....

.

The Las Vacas Hydroelectric Dam
Las Vacas Hydroelectric Dam
The Las Vacas Hydroelectric Dam is a reinforced concrete gravity dam and power plant spanning the Las Vacas River near the village of San Antonio Las Flores in the municipality Chinautla, Guatemala....

 spans the river about 18 km north-east of Guatemala City in the municipality of Chinautla
Chinautla
Chinautla is a municipality in the Guatemala department of Guatemala. According to the 2002 census, it had a population of 77,071, making it the ninth-largest city in the country and the seventh largest in the Guatemala Department....

, near the limits with San Pedro Ayampuc
San Pedro Ayampuc
San Pedro Ayampuc is a municipality in the Guatemala department of Guatemala. The current mayor is Eduardo Avalos Figueroa....

, where it converges with one of its tributaries, the Quezada river.
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