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Motagua River

The 883rd longest river in the world

km

The Motagua River (Spanish pronunciation: [moˈtaɣwa]) is a 486-kilometre-long (302 mi) river in Guatemala. It rises in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The Motagua River basin covers an area of 12,670 square kilometres (4, 890 sq mi) and is the largest in Guatemala. The Motagua River valley contains sources of jadeitite, which has been used by many Indigenous communities that have inhabited the region. The Motagua River is also one of the most plastic-emitting rivers in the world, contributing around two percent of global plastic pollution emissions into oceans annually. Conservation efforts have been driven by the government and non-governmental organizations to ensure safe water and clean oceans.

Flows through: Guatemala.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.

Other major rivers

  1. Amazon6,992 km
  2. Nile6,650 km
  3. Yangtze River6,300 km
  4. Bian River5,806 km
  5. Yellow River5,464 km
  6. Paraná River4,880 km
  7. River Congo4,700 km
  8. Mekong River4,350 km