Magdalena River

river in Colombia

AI overview

The Magdalena River is the longest river in Colombia, flowing through the heart of the country and serving as a vital waterway for transportation and commerce. It has historically been important to Colombia's economy and development, connecting inland regions to the Caribbean coast.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The Magdalena River (Spanish: Río Magdalena, Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o maɣðaˈlena]; less commonly Rio Grande de la Magdalena) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about 1,528 kilometres (949 mi) through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as far as Honda, at the downstream base of its rapids. It flows through the Magdalena River Valley.

Its drainage basin covers a surface of 273,000 square kilometres (105,000 sq mi), which is 24% of the country's area and where 66% of its population lives.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Magdalena River” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.