Río Inabón Explained

Río Inabón
Pushpin Map:Puerto Rico
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of mouth
Source1 Location:Cerro Camacho, Barrio Anón, Ponce (near Jayuya)
Length:19.89miles[1]
Source1 Elevation:4100feet
Mouth Elevation:0feet
Discharge1 Avg:15000cuft/s[2]
Basin Size:38.18mi2[3]
River System:Río Inabón
Tributaries Right:Río Guayo
Quebrada Emajagua

Río Inabón is one of one of the 14 rivers in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. With a length of some 32.01km (19.89miles), it is Ponce's second longest river after Río Jacaguas. It is fed by the Río Anón, Río Guayo (which itself is fed by the Chiquita Brook and the Indalecia Brook) and the Emajagua Brook.[4] It is also fed by Río Bacas and Río de las Raices.[5] Originating at an altitude of approximately 4100feet,[6] it forms at a higher altitude than any of the other 13 rivers in the municipality, and at one of the highest points of any river in Puerto Rico. With a watershed area covering 38.18 square miles, Río Inabón also has the second largest basin area of any of the municipality's 14 rivers after Río Jacaguas.

Origin and course

Río Inabón has its origin at 4100feet above sea level in Cerro Camacho, in barrio Anón, near Anón's boundary with the municipality of Jayuya.[7] [8] [9] The river runs mostly parallel to PR-511.[10]

Uses

"A provision in The Treaty of Paris of 1898 grants the Serrallés family exclusive rights to the Río Inabón. This river winds through Puerto Rico’s volcanic mountains, and is the exclusive water source for DonQ Rum".[11] Today Río Inabón is one of the most popular rivers for swimming in southern Puerto Rico.[12] Some 10 private reservoirs in the Ponce area are fed by the waters of Río Inabón.[13]

Environmental contamination

In January 2011, Puerto Rico Representative Víctor Vassallo Anadón presented a bill into the Puerto Rico House of Representatives that would improve the sewer system of residents near the river to avoid contaminating it with sewer waters.[14]

Endangered species

The fern Thelypteris inabonensis found at the headwaters of Río Inabón and at the Toro Negro State Forest has been identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species.[15]

Flow

The flow of water in the river is controlled by the floodgates at Toa Vaca Lake, located in the municipality of Villalba.[16] Río Inabon has a discharge of 15,000 ft3/s.[17] The Inabón has been known to overflow easily in times of heavy rains.[18] Several rescues have taken place when the river has increased its level rapidly, a phenomenon known as flash flood.[19] Due to its proximity to the eastern end of Aeropuerto Mercedita, the river has affected the operation of the airport in times of heavy rains. This was the case with the hurricane Maria in September 2017.[20]

Course of the river

The following table summarizes the course of Río Inabón in terms of roads crossed. Roads are listed as the river flows from its origin in the mountains of Barrio Anón, north of the city of Ponce, to the Caribbean Sea in the south (N/A = Data not available):

No.Barrio RoadRoad's
km marker
NBI ID[21] Bridge name
(if any)
Direction
(of bridge traffic)
Coordinates Notes
1Unnamed not marked 23401UnnamedBoth 18.1322°N -66.5798°W 0.1 km East of PR-511, km 12.7, on Unnamed Road*
212.5* 27031 UnnamedBoth 18.1246°N -66.5782°W 0.3 km North of Calle Guarayo
3Unnamed not marked 29441 Unnamed Both 18.1223°N -66.5777°W 0.1 km West of PR-511, km 12.7, on Unnamed Road (0.1 km north of Calle Guayaro)*
411.7* 29421 Unnamed Both 18.1209°N -66.5717°W 0.1 km South of Camino Rosaly. (From this point southward, Río Inabón runs on the west side of PR-511)
5RealCalle Sector Jurutungo not marked 29431 Unnamed Both 18.0979°N -66.5636°W At Charca Puente del Agua, 0.1 km West of PR-511, km 12.65, on Camino Sector Jurutungo; 0.3 km North of Capilla Catolica San Martin*
6Coto Laurel9.8 22041 Unnamed Both 18.0501°N -66.5448°W 0.5 km NE of Barrio Coto Laurel; 0.1 km west of INT PR-14 & PR-511.
7Sabana Llana94.3 N/AUnnamed Southbound18.0398°N -66.5375°W PR-52 SB in Municipality of Juana Diaz
8Sabana Llana94.3 N/A Unnamed Northbound18.0396°N -66.5374°W PR-52 NB in Municipality of Juana Diaz
9Sabana LlanaC. Ramal/Av. San Cristobal N/A 25141 Unnamed Both 18.0389°N -66.5373°WCalle Ramal (Calle Laredo) is accessible via Ave. San Cristobal located behind Hospital San Cristobal; Bridge is parallel to the PR-52 km 94.3, bridges
10Capitanejo,
Vayas
120.4 251Unnamed Both 18.0041°N -66.5534°W 0.1 km west of PR-507, Ponce, immediately east of Aeropuerto Mercedita (6.5 km E of Ponce). Bridge has Ponce's Barrio Vayas to its west and Juana Diaz's Barrio Capitanejo to its east.
 

See also

Notes

1.Google Maps incorrectly labels some of the northern portions of Río Inabón as Río Anón. This is most evident in portions just below where Rio Anón feeds into Rio Inabón. See HereWeGo Maps https://wego.here.com/?map=18.13451,-66.57897,16,normal and MapQuest https://www.mapquest.com/latlng/18.001667,-66.606667?zoom=12&maptype=map for labeling consistent with Government of Puerto Rico and USGS labeling.

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.drna.gobierno.pr/biblioteca/publicaciones/hojas-de-nuestro-ambiente/13-LOS%20RIOS%20T..pdf Los Rios.
  2. Ferdinand Quiñones and Karl G. Johnson. The Floods of May 17–18, 1985 and October 6–7, 1985 in Puerto Rico. U.S. Geological Survey. Open File Report 87-123. Prepared in Conjunction with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board, and the Puerto Rico Highway Authority. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1987. Page 15.
  3. http://www.drna.gobierno.pr/biblioteca/publicaciones/hojas-de-nuestro-ambiente/13-LOS%20RIOS%20T..pdf Los Rios.
  4. http://www.salonhogar.com/est_soc/pr/pueblos/ponce/index.htm Salon Hogar.com-Ponce, Hidrografia
  5. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poncepr/ponce1831.html Ponce en 1831.
  6. http://www.gis.otg.gobierno.pr/maptest Maptest.
  7. http://www.pucpr.edu/facultad/fsuarez/285/asignacion1/Ponce%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf Ponce.
  8. http://www.fundacioncarlos.org/riosdepuertoricop.html Rios de Puerto Rico: Rio Inabon.
  9. http://www.visitaponce.com/recursos.aspx Ponce Ciudad Señorial: Recursos Naturales.
  10. http://www.periodicolaperla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3923:viven-para-contarlo-salvan-de-rio-embravecido-a-un-nino-de-juana-diaz&catid=81:locales&Itemid=198 Salvan a un niño de río embravecido.
  11. http://donq.com/about/heritage/ DonQ's Historical Timeline: Our Rum Journey. DonQ Heritage. Destileria Serralles, Don Q website.
  12. http://www.periodicolaperla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=348:carmen-cila-rodriguez-&catid=119:articulos&Itemid=342 Refrescante paseo por los ríos de la zona Sur.
  13. http://www.gobierno.pr/NR/rdonlyres/5B71F1F9-B0CB-4C2C-B814-BBAFEBA3FFDA/0/Vol3001AFlorayFaunaPags128.pdf Informe Ecologico de Flora y Fauna, Proyecto Gasoducto del Sur: Peñuelas, Ponce, Juana Díaz, Santa Isabel, Salinas. For: Proyecto Gasoducto del Sur - Peñuelas, Ponce, Juana Díaz, Santa Isabel, Salinas. By: ENSR (Piscataway, NJ) - AEE (Autoridad de Energia Electrica). Page 19. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  14. http://www.elsuralavista.com/periodico/?p=32139 Vassallo radica nueva resolución para atender daño ambiental a Rio Inabón.
  15. http://www.fws.gov/caribbean/es/pdf/map.pdf Caribbean Endangered Species Map.
  16. http://www.periodicolaperla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2982:desalojan-residentes-en-sureste-de-ponce&catid=135:actualidad-del-sur&Itemid=423 Desalojan residentes al Sureste de Ponce.
  17. Ferdinand Quiñones and Karl G. Johnson. The Floods of May 17–18, 1985 and October 6–7, 1985 in Puerto Rico. U.S. Geological Survey. Open File Report 87-123. Prepared in Conjunction with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board, and the Puerto Rico Highway Authority. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1987. Page 15.
  18. http://www.periodicolaperla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3014:heroes-en-medio-de-la-tempestad-lideran-dramatico-rescate-tras-el-paso-de-irene&catid=81:locales&Itemid=198 Lideran dramático rescate en el Inabón.
  19. http://www.periodicolaperla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3923:viven-para-contarlo-salvan-de-rio-embravecido-a-un-nino-de-juana-diaz&catid=81:locales&Itemid=198 Salvan a un niño de río embravecido.
  20. http://www.periodicolaperla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3075:provocan-remanentes-de-maria-activacion-de-emergencia-en-la-region&catid=81:locales&Itemid=198 Trastoca al sur remanente de María.
  21. https://bridgereports.com/pr/ponce/ National Bridge Inventory Data: Puerto Rico, Ponce.