Apurímac River
From Perupedia
| Apurímac | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Nevado Mismi |
| Mouth | Ene River 12°15′46″S 73°58′44″W / 12.26278°S 73.97889°W |
| Basin countries | Peru |
| Length | 690 kilometres (430 mi)[1] |
The Apurímac River (Spanish: Río Apurímac, pronounced [apuˈɾimak]) ("apu"=divinity "rimac"=oracle, talker) rises from glacial meltwater of the ridge of Nevado Mismi, a 5,597-meter high mountain in the Arequipa Province in southern Peru.
The Apurímac is the source of the world's largest river system, the Amazon River. It rises in Peru's south-western cordilleras, 10 km (7 miles) from the village of Caylloma, and less than 160 km (100 miles) from the Pacific coast.
It flows generally northwest past Cuzco in narrow gorges of up to 3,000 m, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA, its course interrupted by falls and rapids. Of the six attempts so far to travel the Apurímac in its full length, only two have been successful.
After 730.70 kilometres (454.04 mi), the Apurímac joins the Mantaro River and becomes the Ene River at 12°15′46″S 73°58′44″W / 12.26278°S 73.97889°W, 440 m (1,325 ft.) above sea level; then after joining the Perené River at 330 m (984 ft.) above sea level, it becomes the Tambo River; when it joins the Urubamba at 280 m (859 ft.) above sea level the river becomes the Ucayali, which is the main headstream of the Amazon.
Sometimes the complete river from its source to its junction with the Ucayáli, i.e. including the rivers Ene and Tambo, is called "Apurímac", with a total length of 1,069.80 km.
Coordinates: 15°31′31″S 71°41′27″W / 15.52528°S 71.69083°W
References
- 12px This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ "Longuitud aproximada de los ríos mas importantes" Estadísticas Ambientales, 2008 Información Socio Demográfica, INES
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de:Río Apurímac et:Apurímaci jõgi es:Río Apurímac fr:Río Apurímac gl:Río Apurimac it:Apurímac (fiume) he:אפורימיאק lt:Apurimakas nl:Apurímac (rivier) ja:アプリマック川 no:Apurímac nn:Apurímac pl:Apurímac (rzeka) pt:Rio Apurímac qu:Apurimaq mayu ru:Апуримак (река) uk:Тамбо
