Among the longest rivers of Mexico are 26 streams of at least . In the case of rivers such as the Colorado, the length listed in the table below is solely that of the main stem. In the case of the Grijalva and Usumacinta, it is the combined lengths of two river systems that share a delta. In the case of the Nazas and Aguanaval, it is the combined lengths of separate rivers that flow into the same closed basin.
Three rivers in this list cross international boundaries or form them. The Colorado and the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte or Río Bravo) begin in the United States and flow into Mexico, while the Usumacinta begins in Guatemala and flows into Mexico.
The primary source for the length, watershed, and surface runoff data in the table below is the 10th edition of Statistics on Water in Mexico, published by the National Water Commission (CONAGUA); exceptions are as noted. U.S. states and departments of Guatemala appear in italics in the "States" column.
Key River is not entirely within Mexico. Watershed is not entirely within Mexico.
+ Longest rivers of Mexico#NameMouth Approximate coordinates from GeoNames, in some cases adjusted by geolocating with Google Earth.LengthWatershedareaAnnual surface runoffStatesImage1Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte or Río Bravo)Gulf of Mexico km1,931 mi km2180,286 mi2 x 106 m32.15 x 1011 ft3 Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas 2Colorado RiverGulf of California km1,452 mi km2243,547 mi2 x 106 m36.321 x 1011 ft3 Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, Sonora, Baja California 3Grijalva–Usumacinta RiversBay of Campeche km1,187 mi km249,570 mi2 x 106 m34.0801 x 1012 ft3 Petén, Chiapas, Tabasco4Nazas–Aguanaval Rivers Bolsón de Mapimí km672 mi km234,455 mi2 x 106 m36.75 x 1010 ft3Durango, Zacatecas, Coahuila 5Culiacán RiverPacific Ocean km544 mi km26,074 mi2 x 106 m31.116 x 1011 ft3Sinaloa 6Balsas RiverPacific Ocean km478 mi km245,331 mi2 x 106 m35.858 x 1011 ft3Puebla, Morelos, Michoacán, Guerrero7Lerma RiverLake Chapala km440 mi km218,192 mi2 x 106 m31.675 x 1011 ft3State of Mexico, Querétaro, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Jalisco8Rio Grande de SantiagoPacific Ocean km349 mi km229,504 mi2 x 106 m32.772 x 1011 ft3Jalisco, Nayarit 9Fuerte RiverGulf of California km336 mi km212,970 mi2 x 106 m31.828 x 1011 ft3Sinaloa10Pánuco RiverGulf of Mexico km317 mi km232,802 mi2 x 106 m37.18 x 1011 ft3Veracruz 11Rio ConchosRio Grande km301 mi km226,404 mi2Benke and Cushing, p. 1079 x 106 m39.58 x 1010 ft3 Chihuahua 12Sonora RiverGulf of California km262 mi km210,710 mi2 x 106 m31.44 x 1010 ft3Sonora13Soto La Marina RiverGulf of Mexico km258 mi km28,179 mi2 x 106 m37.37 x 1010 ft3Tamaulipas 14Yaqui River Gulf of California km255 mi km228,010 mi2 x 106 m31.117 x 1011 ft3Sonora15Sinaloa RiverGulf of California km249 mi km24,730 mi2 x 106 m37.51 x 1010 ft3Sinaloa16San Fernando RiverGulf of Mexico km249 mi km26,851 mi2 x 106 m35.46 x 1010 ft3Tamaulipas 17Mayo RiverGulf of California km240 mi km25,835 mi2 x 106 m34.35 x 1010 ft3Chihuahua, Sonora18Tecolutla RiverGulf of Mexico km233 mi km23,051 mi2 x 106 m32.152 x 1011 ft3Veracruz 19Jamapa RiverGulf of Mexico km229 mi km21,568 mi2 x 106 m39.05 x 1010 ft3Veracruz 20Papaloapan RiverGulf of Mexico km220 mi km217,960 mi2 x 106 m31.5772 x 1012 ft3Oaxaca, Veracruz 21Verde RiverPacific Ocean km213 mi km22,292 mi2 x 106 m32.097 x 1011 ft3Oaxaca22Concepción RiverGulf of California km208 mi km29,965 2 x 106 m34.3 x 109 ft3Sonora23Coatzacoalcos RiverGulf of Mexico km202 mi km26,706 mi2 x 106 m39.921 x 1011 ft3Oaxaca, Veracruz 24San Lorenzo RiverGulf of California km196 mi km23,444 mi2 x 106 m35.9 x 1010 ft3Durango, Sinaloa25Sonoyta RiverGulf of California km193 mi km22,955 mi2 x 106 m3570 x 106 ft3Sonora26San Pedro RiverPacific Ocean km158 mi km210,220 mi2 x 106 m31.207 x 1011 ft3Durango, Nayarit
See also List of rivers of Mexico List of rivers of the Americas by coastline
Notes and references Notes
References
Works cited Benke, Arthur C., ed., and Cushing, Colbert E., ed. Rivers of North America. Burlington, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. .