Apure River
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| Apure | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Colombia |
| Mouth | Orinoco at Cabruta |
| Basin countries | Colombia, Venezuela |
| Length | 645 miles (1038 km) |
| Source elevation | c. 1300 m |
| Basin area | 167,000 km²[1] |
The Apure River is a river of western Venezuela, formed by the confluence of the Sarare and Uribante at in the Colombian Andes, entering Venezuela near San Cristobal, Táchira State and flowing eastward across the Venezuelan llanos, into the Orinoco. Its drainage area thus includes the slopes of both Colombian and Venezuelan Andes.
The Apure flows primarily through Apure State including San Fernando before joining the Orinoco River via six braided river branches at Cabruta, Guárico State, across from Caicara, Bolívar State, at about . The Apure is 645 miles long from the Uribante-Sarare confluence to the Orinoco. It is navigable for about 500 miles above the Orinoco, where it has a sluggish course across the llanos, despite rapids at about the 110 mile mark. From the north, its principal tributaries are the Caparro, Portuguesa and Guarico. The Caucagua is its only major tributary from the south. Because of the flatness of the land its meanders and bayous to the south are mingled with those of the Arauca River creating an extensive area which is flooded annually.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Saunders, James F., III and Lewis, William M., Jr. (October 1988) "Transport of phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon by the Apure River, Venezuela" Biogeochemistry 5(3): pp. 323-342
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
