The Yaqui River (Río Yaqui in Spanish) (Hiak Vatwe in Yaqui) is a river in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Being the largest river system in the state of Sonora, the Yaqui river is used for irrigation.
Approximately 320km (200mi) in length, the Yaqui flows south and southwest to empty into the Gulf of California.
The Yaqui river originates in the Sierra Madre Occidental and flows into the Gulf of California near the city of Obregon.
Its course is interrupted by several reservoirs like Plutarco Elías Calles (El Novillo), Lázaro Cárdenas (Angostura), or Álvaro Obregón (El Oviáchic, Lake Ouiachic), which provides the water resource for the intensively irrigated region of Ciudad Obregón.
Of interesting note- the Yaqui River was once home to the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) and represented one of the northernmost natural locations for the species. Decades of environmental degradation in the region led to the extirpation of the species from the region.[1]