Samalá River
Encyclopedia
The Samalá is a river in Southwest Guatemala. Its sources are located in the Sierra Madre
range, in the departments of Totonicapán
and Quetzaltenango
. From there it flows down, past the towns San Cristóbal Totonicapán
, Quetzaltenango
, El Palmar
and Zunil
, through the coastal plains of Retalhuleu
into the Pacific Ocean
.
The Samalá river basin covers a territory of 1,510 km2, and has a population of around 400,000 people. Its proximity to the active Santa Maria
and Santiaguito volcano complex, with its recurring lava
and lahars flows, leads to a hightened risk of serious floodings.
There is also a Salamá River
in Guatemala that is a tributary to the Chixoy River
.
Sierra Madre de Chiapas
Sierra Madre is a mountain range which runs northwest-southeast from the state of Chiapas in Mexico across Guatemala and into El Salvador and Honduras. Most of the volcanoes of Guatemala are a part of this range.A narrow coastal plain lies south the range, between the Sierra Madre and the Pacific...
range, in the departments of Totonicapán
Totonicapán (department)
Totonicapán is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. The capital is the city of Totonicapán.- Municipalities :# Momostenango# San Andrés Xecul# San Bartolo# San Cristóbal Totonicapán# San Francisco El Alto# Santa Lucía La Reforma...
and Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango (department)
Quetzaltenango is a department in the western highlands of Guatemala. The capital is the city of Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in Guatemala. The inhabitants include Spanish-speaking Ladinos and the K'iche' and Mam Maya groups, both with their own Maya language...
. From there it flows down, past the towns San Cristóbal Totonicapán
San Cristóbal Totonicapán
San Cristóbal Totonicapán is a municipality in the Totonicapán department of Guatemala.In the second week in december they have a festival called "Festival de Guadalupe" where people paint their whole bodies with body paint to become diablos. They then walk through the main street and are likely to...
, Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango, also commonly known by its indigenous name, Xelajú , or more commonly, Xela , is the second largest city of Guatemala. It is both the capital of Quetzaltenango Department and the municipal seat of Quetzaltenango municipality....
, El Palmar
El Palmar, Quetzaltenango
El Palmar is a municipality in the Quetzaltenango department of GuatemalaEl Palmar is mostly an agricultural municipality, with coffee being one of its main products....
and Zunil
Zunil
Zunil is a municipality in the Quetzaltenango department of Guatemala with a surface area of . Zunil is located from the city of Quetzaltenango, on the bank of the Salamá River. Zunil has an altitude of approximately above mean sea level. The population is about 14,000 people, 100% indigenous...
, through the coastal plains of Retalhuleu
Retalhuleu (department)
Retalhuleu is a department located in the south-west of Guatemala, extending from the mountains to the Pacific Ocean coast. It has an area of 1856 km². In 2002 the population of the Department of Retalhuleu was 241,411. The capital is the city of Retalhuleu....
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...
.
The Samalá river basin covers a territory of 1,510 km2, and has a population of around 400,000 people. Its proximity to the active Santa Maria
Santamaría (volcano)
Santa María Volcano is a large active volcano in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, close to the city of Quetzaltenango. Prior to the Spanish Conquest it was called Gagxanul in the local K'iche' language. Its eruption in 1902 was one of the four largest eruptions of the 20th century, after the...
and Santiaguito volcano complex, with its recurring lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
and lahars flows, leads to a hightened risk of serious floodings.
There is also a Salamá River
Salamá River
The Salamá River is a river in Guatemala. The river is fed by a number of streams running down the slopes of the Sierra de las Minas and Sierra de Chuacús and flows in a north-westerly direction through the town of Salamá until it joins the Chixoy River....
in Guatemala that is a tributary to the Chixoy River
Chixoy River
The Chixoy River or Río Negro is a river in Guatemala. The river is called Río Negro from its sources in the highlands of Huehuetenango and El Quiché until it reaches the Chixoy hydroelectric dam , where the Río Salamá and Rio Carchela converge with the Río Negro...
.