Civica

{{Geobox|River}}

Coatzacoalcos River

The river Coatzacoalcos originates in the Sierra de Niltepec and Crosses, the State Oaxaca, in the region of Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is a large river that feeds mainly the south part of the state of Veracruz. The river has a flow of 2.330 kilometers in length. The river flows towards the direction of Gulf of Mexico. The flow direction of the oatzacoalcos River merges with the following rivers Jaltepec, Chalchijalpa. The Coatzacoalcos River merges with the following rivers Jaltepec river, Chalchijalpa river, El Chiquito river, Unpanapa river, and the Calzadas rivers. The merging of all these rivers creates one of the largest current flows in entire region. Two thirds of the rivers flows are navigable given the local residents a perfect means of transportation mainly for industrial purposes.

Legend

The legend claims the Quetzalcoatl the Aztec god was on board of a raft made of a serpent skin and navigated until became lost into the horizon. Ever since the river has been known as the Coatzacoalcos river which means “The place where the serpent hides.”

Port

Coatzacoalcos is one of the most commercial and industrializes ports. This port offers one of the most important means of transportation for an international traffic. The products are important to the local industrial farming business, forestry, and commerce in general for Isthmus of Tehuantepec. This port is considered the third most important in the Gulf of Mexico. At the same time, it has received the name of one of the most contaminated rivers of the world. One of the reasons these rivers has been contaminated is due to the lack of environmental laws protecting the public water. Peter M. Garber The Mexico-US Free Trade Agreement The international industries have the tendency to go to countries where the environmental laws are weaker. These actions allow the polluting of the local environments in countries where laws are weak. According to the Mexican Center of Environmental Law (CEMDA) the biggest polluting body is the (PEMEX) the Petrochemical industry of Mexico.