Manzanares River (South America)

This article is about the river in Venezuela. For the river in Spain, see Manzanares (river).
Manzanares

View of the Manzanares River
Country Venezuela
Basin
Main source Turimiquire Range
ca 2,000 m (6,600 ft)
River mouth Cariaco Gulf, Caribbean
0 m (0 ft)
Basin size 1,066 km2 (412 sq mi)
Physical characteristics
Length 80 km (50 mi)
Discharge
  • Average rate:
    17.48 m3/s (617 cu ft/s)
By the shores of the Manzanares in 1900

The Manzanares is an 80 km long river in Venezuela. It flows into the Caribbean Sea.

Course

The source of the Manzanares is at the 2,200 m high Turimiquire Range in Sucre State. The river flows roughly northwards for about 80 km by the city of Cumanacoa. Finally it flows by Cumaná into the Cariaco Gulf of the Caribbean.[1]

History

Historically this river had also been known as the 'Cumaná River', for it has an iconic value in the city of Cumaná.[2]

Alexander von Humboldt praised the pleasant atmosphere of the river banks in his travelogue Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent (1814–29)[3]

In 2012 Hurricane Isaac caused heavy rain in the area and the Manzanares overflowed its banks in the town of Cumanacoa inundating approximately 1,200 homes many of which were damaged and a few destroyed.[4] Some residents had to be airlifted to safety. Similar flooding occurred elsewhere in the country, such as in Caracas where 40 families had to be evacuated.[5]

This river is the subject of Rio Manzanares, a famous Parang song composed by José Antonio López in Cumaná in 1958.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ El Gran Turimiquire: Trono de los Dioses y manantial del Oriente venezolano
  2. ↑ Memoria Fotográfica de la Ciudad de Cumaná / El Río Manzanares
  3. ↑ Alexander von Humboldt, Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent, Chapter 4 "First stay in Cumaná; the Manzanares River banks"
  4. ↑ (Spanish) "Tormenta tropical 'Isaac' deja dos muertos en Venezuela". Reuters. Noticieros Televisa. August 25, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Tropical storm lashes Isaac Venezuela". El Universal. August 27, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  6. ↑ Rio Manzanares - Parang

Coordinates: 10°27′N 64°10′W / 10.450°N 64.167°W / 10.450; -64.167


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