The hydrography of Chiapas includes 96 thousand square kilometers of heritage sea, 110 thousand hectares of continental waters, 260 kilometers of coastline, 75,230 hectares of estuaries and 10 lagoon systems.
In addition, the hydrography of Chiapas includes 47 rivers, distributed in ten hydrographic basins, and, in turn, in twelve sub-basins.
The most important river in the state is the Usumacinta River, which is the natural border between Mexico and Guatemala. This river is the longest in Central America, with a length of 1,123 kilometers.
Chiapas water bodies represent approximately 30% of Mexico's water resources.
You may also be interested in the natural resources of Chiapas.
The 2 hydrological regions of Chiapas
The Sierra Madre de Chiapas serves as the dividing point between the two main hydrological regions of the state: Costa de Chiapas and Grijalva-Usumacinta.
1- Coast of Chiapas
It has short water courses that are characterized by having annual flood seasons due to rainfall.
During these seasons, the bodies of water flow into the bodies of water bordering the Pacific Ocean.
The hydrographic basins of this hydrological region are the following:
- Suchiate river basin and others: 1,400 km 2 of surface, of which 1,064 km 2 belong to Guatemala and 336 km 2 are located in Mexican territory.
- Huixtla River Basin and others: 3,945 km 2 of surface.
- Pijijiapan river basin and others: 2925 km 2 of surface.
- Basin of the Dead Sea lagoon: 3209 km 2 of surface.
The rivers usually flow into the coastal lagoons of the Chiapas coast.
In this hydrological region, the Suchiate River stands out as one of the most important bodies of water, since it delimits the natural border between Mexico and Guatemala.
2- Grijalva-Usumacinta
The rivers of this hydrological region flow into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean on a regular basis.
The hydrographic basins of this hydrological region are the following:
- Usumacinta River Basin: 73,195 km 2 of surface, of which 21,757 km 2 are in the state of Chiapas.
- Chixoy river basin: 12,150 km 2 of surface.
- Lacantún River Basin: 620 km 2 of surface.
- Grijalva-Villahermosa river basin: 9617 km 2 of surface.
- Grijalva-Tuxtla Gutiérrez river basin: 20 146 km 2 of surface.
- Grijalva-La Concordia river basin: 9644 km 2 of surface.
The main bodies of water in this region are the Usumacinta and Grijalva rivers, which make up a single fluvial system.
The Usumacinta River is the largest in Central America. It constitutes the natural border between Mexico and Guatemala through 310 kilometers, and has an important hydrological network.
For its part, the Grijalva River is an important source of hydroelectric energy thanks to its large flow.
The Belisario Domínguez, Manuel Moreno Torres, Nezahualcóyotl and Ángel Albino Corzo dams have been built on its course.
References
- Chiapas (nd). Encyclopedia of the municipalities and delegations of Mexico. Recovered from: inafed.gob.mx
- Chiapas: Water (nd). Recovered from: Cuentame.inegi.org.mx
- National Water Commission (2014). Program of preventive measures and drought mitigation in the Grijalva and Usumacinta river basin council. Southern Border Basin Agency. Recovered from: gob.mx
- Hydrography of Chiapas (nd). Recovered from: chiapasilustrado.com
- March, I., Castro, M. (2010). The Usumacinta River basin: Profile and perspectives for its conservation and sustainable development. Recovered from: publications.inecc.gob.mx
- Martínez, A. (2015). Hydrology of the State of Chiapas. Recovered from: paratodomexico.com
- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2017). Chiapas. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org