Motagua River

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The Motagua River is a 400km long river in Guatemala. It rises in central Guatemala to the north-east of Guatemala City and runs north-east to east to the Gulf of Honduras. The final few kilometres of the river form part of the Guatemala/Honduras border.

The river runs in a valley that has the only known source of jade in Mesoamerica, and was an important commerce route during the Pre Columbine era. The important Maya site of Quirigua, is near the river's north bank, as well as several smaller sites with jade quarries and workshops. Guatemala sits over the subduction zone of the Cocos plate, with the North American plate grinding along the Caribbean plate at the Motagua valley.

[edit] References

• Map of Guatemala including the river

[edit] External links

• Jade sources in The Motagua River Valley