What is the major waterways of Mexico?

Answer 1

Most rivers are short and unnavigable, due to the rough terrain that composes most of the Mexican territory; specially along the west coast where the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range is located. Notable exceptions include the Culiacan and Balsas rivers, which are the second and third longest in Mexico and flow from the Central Mexican Plateau into the Pacific.

The ten most important rivers, in terms of length would be:

• Rio Grande / Rio Bravo: 2,018 Km (1,255 mi), flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

• Rio Culiacan: 875 Km (544 mi), flowing into the Pacific Ocean.

• Rio Balsas: 770 Km (479 mi), flowing into the Pacific Ocean.

• Rio Lerma: 708 Km (440 mi), flowing into the Lake Chapala, in the western state of Jalisco.

• Rio El Fuerte: 670 Km (417 mi), flowing through the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa into the Gulf of California.

• Rio Grijalva-Usumacinta: 608 Km (378 mi), flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. Part of the Usumacinta river conforms the Mexico-Guatemala Border along 200 Km (124 miles) of the river's length.

• Rio Nazas: 600 Km (373 mi), flows into the Lagoon of Mayran, on the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.

• Rio Grande de Santiago: 562 Km (350 m), flowing from the Chapala Lake westward into the Pacific Ocean.

• Rio Panuco: 510 Km (317 mi), flowing through the states of San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas and Veracruz, into the Gulf of Mexico.

• Rio Soto La Marina: 416 Km (259 mi) born in the state of Tamaulipas and flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

As special mention, the Rio Colorado (Colorado River, in the US) is flowing only 179 Kilometers (112 miles) through Mexican territory, into the Gulf of California.