| Río Cerrillos | |
|---|---|
Cerrillos River near the Lake Cerrillos Dam |
|
| Origin | Barrio Anón |
| Mouth | Rio Bucana |
| Progression | Anón Maraguez Cerrillos |
| Basin countries | Puerto Rico |
| Location | Ponce |
| Length | 18.5 miles (29.8 km)[1] |
| Source elevation | 1,200 feet (370 m)[2] |
| Mouth elevation | 69 feet (21 m)[3] |
| Avg. discharge | 24,000 cu ft/s[4] |
| Basin area | 17.80 sq. mi.[5] |
| River system | Rio Bucana |
| Left tributaries | Rio Bayagan Quebrada Ausubo Rio San Patricio |
| Right tributaries | Rio Prieto |
Río Cerrillos is a river in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Rio Cerrillos has its origin in barrio Anón and runs south until it feeds into Rio Bucana. Rio Cerrillos is commonly known by the locals as Rio Maragüez, because most of its course runs through Barrio Maragüez. This river is one of the 14 rivers in the municipality. The river has a discharge of 24,000 cubic feet per second,[6] making it the second most affluent river in the municipality after Rio Jacaguas.
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From its origin about 1 kilometer south of the intersection of PR-139 and PR-143, Rio Cerrillos runs south for 1.8 kilometers where it is fed by Rio Prieto west of PR-139. From this point on, Rio Cerrillos runs parallel to PR-139 for 2 kilometers in barrio Anón before reaching barrio Maraguez. Continuing on its southernly course for about 1.2 kilometers, Rio Cerrillos is fed by San Patricio. Five kilometers further downstream Rio Cerrillos forms Lake Cerrillos, as a result of its dam. Flowing out of the Rio Cerrillos dam, Río Cerrillos runs south for 1 kilometer until it enters barrios Machuelo Arriba and barrio Cerrillos, being the boundary between the two barrios. The river continues its southern course parallel to PR-139 for 5 kilometers until it reaches PR-5139. In another kilometer downstream it is fed by Quebrada Ausubo, and another kilometer further south it is fed by Rio Bayagan. At this point it feeds into Rio Bucana where it terminates.[7][8]
Rio Cerrillos is the feeder river for Lake Cerrillos Dam in Barrio Maragüez, in the municipality of Ponce. The lake is an artificial reservoir holding 47,900 acre-feet (59,100,000 m3) of water. The Dam that made the lake possible was completed in 1992. The lake has two parks, one on the northern end and the other on the southern end of the lake. This last one is called the "Luis A. Wito Morales Park".