River
Apure River
1,580 km from source to mouth · Venezuela.
VenezuelaFlows into Orinoco River2nd longest in Venezuela
In numbers
Length
1,580km
Average flow
2,600m³/s
Basin
147,000km²
Drop
1,544m
from 1,565 m to 21 m
Country
1
The journey
From source to mouth
1,580 km of river and 17 stops on the way: 2 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.
- 0 kmSourceat 1,565 m
- 49 kmUribante Rivertributary
- 301 kmGuasdualito64,608 people
- 485 kmPagüey Rivertributary
- 751 kmPortuguesa Rivertributary
- 758 kmSan Fernando de Apure194,274 people
- 759 kmLaguna Cople1.6 km²
- 762 kmLaguna La Guamita0.4 km²
- 810 kmLaguna La Barracuda0.8 km²
- 874 kmLaguna La Maciera0.8 km²
- 888 kmLaguna Las Siete0.5 km²
- 890 kmLaguna Valencia1.6 km²
- 900 kmLaguna La Pesca0.5 km²
- 900 kmLaguna La Culebra1.4 km²
- 913 kmLaguna La Tortuga0.8 km²
- 921 kmLaguna La Silvestrera0.5 km²
- 924 kmLaguna Larga0.4 km²
- 925 kmLaguna Perro de Agua0.3 km²
- 973 kmOrinoco Riverat 21 m
Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.
River in Venezuela
At the mouth it carries 2,557 m³/s on average: 1.0 Olympic pools every second. It drops from 1,565 m to 21 m, 1.0 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 147,000 km², about the size of BD. 5.7 million people live in it. Highest water: from August to September; lowest: from January to April. Dams and reservoirs hold back a large share of its water (13% of a year's flow).
Where to start
- San Fernando de ApureLargest city on its banks · 194,274 people
- German Olano Airport (PCR)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 189 km from the city
- On the water8 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
- From December to FebruaryThe best months to visit
Apure River, month by month
Highest water: from August to September
Lowest water: from January to April. Best months to visit: from December to February.
From about 740 m³/s in the lowest month to 5,400 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.
Plan the trip
Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car
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The basin
Apure River: the basin in numbers
136,694 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.
- 5.7millionpeople live in the basin
- 42/km²people per km²
- 355maverage altitude of the basin
- 1,484mmof rain a year (basin average)
- 25.8°Caverage air temperature
- 38%protected areas
- 0.5%covered by lakes
- 10km³held in reservoirs
What covers the basin
- 20% Forest
- 12% Cropland
- 47% Pasture
- 1% Towns and cities
RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.
Along the river
Apure River: what you find on the way
- 1Waterfalls
- 6Ferry piers
- 2MarinasEmbarcadero de motos acuáticas - lanchas, Embarcadero de motos acuáticas
From OpenStreetMap, within 2.5 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Apure River in our other atlases
What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.
12lakes on its wayLakeyas
1mountain at the sourcePeakyas
Lakes and reservoirs (12)
Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas
- Laguna Coplekm 7591.6km²
- Laguna La Barracudakm 8100.8km²
- Laguna La Macierakm 8740.8km²
- Laguna Valenciakm 8901.6km²
- Laguna La Pescakm 9000.5km²
- Laguna La Culebrakm 9001.4km²
- Laguna La Tortugakm 9130.8km²
- Laguna La Silvestrerakm 9210.5km²
4 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
Mountains at the source (1)
Within 15 km of the source, by Peakyas
- Monte El Urero8.8 km away
From space
The source and the mouth, seen from orbit
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.
Photos
Apure River in pictures
Tributaries
Where it flows, and what flows into it
It flows into
Orinoco RiverVenezuela2,140 km30,000 m³/sTributaries (5)
Also: Guárico River, Portuguesa River, Uribante River, Pagüey River, Masparro River
ColombiaNearby
Rivers nearby
Where these numbers come from
| Name, length, places | Wikidata (Q853315) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Course, profile, basin | RiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata |
| Flow | WaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate along the river | WorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Towns, bridges, dams | Wikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Along the river | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Our other atlases | Lakeyas, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every source and licence is on the data sources page.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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