Huallaga River

Huallaga River

The Huallaga River is a tributary of the Marañón River, part of the Amazon Basin. Old names for this river include "Guallaga" and "Rio de los Motilones". The Huallaga is born on the slopes of the Andes in central Peru, and joins the Marañón before the latter reaches the Ucayali River to form the Amazon. Its main affluents are the Monzón, Mayo, Biabo, Abiseo and Tocache rivers. Coca is grown in most of those valleys, which are also exposed to periodic floods.

For nearly its entire length the Huallaga is an impetuous torrent running through a succession of gorges. It has forty-two rapids, and it crosses the Andes, forming the Pongo de Aguirre gorge. From this point, convert|140|mi|km from the Amazon, the Huallaga can be ascended by larger river boats ("lanchas") to the port city of Yurimaguas, Loreto.

The Huallaga is divided in two, before and after it passes the city of Juanjuí: the "Alto Huallaga" (Upper Huallaga) and the "Bajo Huallaga" (Lower Huallaga), because the terrain changes from the slopes of the Andes to the swamps of the Amazon Rainforest.Between the Huallaga and the Ucayali lies the famous "Pampa del Sacramento," a level region of stoneless alluvial lands covered with thick, dark forests, first entered by Christian missionaries in 1726. It is about convert|300|mi|km long, from north to south, and varies in width from 40 to 100 metres. Many streams, navigable for canoes, penetrate this region from the Ucayali and the Huallaga. In addition to peasants, it is still occupied by many indigenous communities, such as the Cocama-Cocamilla.


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  • Huallaga River — River, western and northern Peru. It rises in the Andes Mountains and descends north, carving a valley between the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Azul and joining the Marañón River in the Amazon River basin. The Huallaga is estimated to be …   Universalium

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  • Huallaga Valley — The Huallaga Valley is located in northern Peru, south of Tarapoto. It follows the Huallaga River.CocaSince the 1980s, the primary coca growing and drug trafficking activities in Peru have been in the Upper Huallaga Valley.… …   Wikipedia

  • Huallaga Province — Infobox Province Peru region = San Martín founded = cofarms = province = Huallaga capital = Saposoa pop = density = n.a. area = districts = 6 web = ubigeo = 2204The Huallaga Province is one of 10 provinces of the San Martín Region in northern… …   Wikipedia

  • river — river1 riverless, adj. riverlike, adj. /riv euhr/, n. 1. a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels. 2. a similar stream of something other than water: a… …   Universalium

  • Marañón River — River, central Peru. Rising in the Andes Mountains, it is part of the headwaters of the Amazon River. It flows northwest at elevations of about 12,000 ft (3,650 m) and descends through jungles in unnavigable rapids and falls; emerging from the… …   Universalium

  • Huallaga — Hual·la·ga (wä yäʹgä) A river rising in the Andes of west central Peru and flowing about 1,126 km (700 mi) generally northward to the Marañón River. * * * …   Universalium

  • Huallaga — geographical name river 700 miles (1126 kilometers) N central Peru flowing N into the Marañón …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Río Huallaga — Vista del río Huallaga. País que atraviesa   …   Wikipedia Español

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