The Michatoya 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 town of Amatitlán

Amatitlán

Amatitlán is a town in the Guatemala department of Guatemala. The main industry of the town during colonial times was the preparation of cochineal...

, flowing out from the lake of the same name

Lake Amatitlán

Lake Amatitlán is a volcanic lake in south-central Guatemala, fairly close to Guatemala City. It lies in the central highlands, 1,186 m above sea level. Its maximum depth is 33 m and an average of 18 m...

, through the towns of Palín

Palín

Palín may refer to:* Palín, Escuintla, municipality in the Escuintla Department of Guatemala* Palín, Michalovce District, village in the Michalovce District of Slovakia...

, Masagua

Masagua

Masagua is a municipality in the Escuintla department of Guatemala....

, and out into the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. It has served as one of the principal sources of electricity for Guatemala City

Guatemala City

Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...

. Sometimes it has overflowed its banks, flooding the city of Amatitlán, until dredging of the riverbed began, which so far has prevented further inundation.