The Pánuco River (Spanish: Río Pánuco) is a river in Mexico that flows from the River Moctezuma in the Valley of Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico.
At its source, it serves as a channel for water-drainage for Mexico City. From there, it becomes the state border between Hidalgo and Querétaro as it moves towards San Luis Potosí. It takes the name Río Pánuco upon reaching Veracruz. It empties into the Gulf at Tampico and Ciudad Madero, on the border between the states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz.
It is approximately 500 km in length but only the last 15 km is navigable for larger ships.
The Pánuco and its tributaries drain portions of the states of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Mexico, Puebla, and Veracruz.
According to the Atlas of Mexico, the Panuco River is the fourth largest river in Mexico by volume of runoff, and the sixth largest river basin in Mexico by area.
