Papaloapan River
Template:Infobox river The Papaloapan River (Template:Langx) is one of the main rivers of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Its name comes from the Nahuatl papaloapan meaning "river of the butterflies".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1518 Juan de Grijalva's expedition spotted the river, naming it Río de Alvarado.<ref name=Diaz>Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, Template:ISBN</ref>Template:Rp The Papaloapan rises in the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca on the border between the states of Veracruz and Oaxaca. It is formed where the Santo Domingo River and the Valle Nacional River join to the southwest of San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec in Oaxaca. The Tonto River is another major tributary. The Papaloapan meanders for Template:Convert in a northeasterly direction through the coastal plain before draining into Alvarado Lagoon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The river basin covers Template:Convert, the second largest in Mexico, and contains 244 municipalities with a population of about 3.3 million people.<ref name="brundell">Template:Cite web</ref> The cities of San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec and Tlacotalpan (Veracruz) are situated on the banks of the Papaloapan.
In the past the Papaloapan river basin was subject to frequent flooding, with the damage sometimes compounded by cyclones. A particularly severe flood in September 1944 covered Template:Convert, with great loss of life and property. The Miguel Alemán Dam on the Tonto river reduced the problem, but further floods occurred after it had been completed in 1955. A flood in 1958 covered Template:Convert and one in 1969 covered Template:Convert. Meanwhile, the drainage capacity of the Papaloapan river was being reduced by silt carried by the Santo Domingo river. Construction of the Cerro de Oro Dam in 1989 on the Santo Domingo river reduced the extent of floods to a manageable level.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The states of Oaxaca and Veracruz are cooperating in developing the river basin. Plans include irrigation to improve agricultural production, promotion of forestry and fish farming and improvements to roads and river navigation. The planned projects will be designed to avoid ecological damage.<ref name=brundell/> Environmental damage has been the subject of considerable study.<ref>Patrick H. Cosby, "Leviathan in the Tropics: A postcolonial environmental history of the Papaloapan Projects in Mexico." PhD diss. University of Florida 2011.</ref>
See also
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Satellite picture of the Papaloapan River ending at the Gulf of Mexico
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The Papaloapan at Tuxtepec
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View of the river
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Papaloapan river in front of Carlos A. Carrillo, Veracruz.
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Papaloapan River in front of Cosamaloapan
