Río Cañas (Ponce, Puerto Rico)
Encyclopedia
The Río Cañas, also known as Río Canas, is a river in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

. It is also known as Río Magueyes in the area of barrio Magueyes
Magueyes
Magueyes is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Together with Cerrillos, Machuelo Arriba, Maragüez, Monte Llano, Portugues, Sabanetas, and Tibes, Magueyes is one of the municipality's eight interior barrios. The name of this barrio is of native Indian...

 in the municipality of Ponce. This river is one of the 14 rivers in the municipality.

Origin

The river originates in Cerro Avispa, located in Barrio Guaraguao
Guaraguao
Guaraguao is one of the 31 barrios in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Anón, Coto Laurel, Marueño, Quebrada Limón, Real, and San Patricio, and the coastal barrios of Canas and Capitanejo, Guaraguao is one of the municipality's nine bordering barrios. It borders the...

, near Guaraguao's boundary with the municipality of Adjuntas and runs towards the Caribbean Sea. The old Hacienda Buena Vista
Hacienda Buena Vista
Hacienda Buena Vista, also known as Hacienda Vives , is a coffee plantation and estate in Ponce, Puerto Rico, established in the 19th century. The plantation was started by Don Salvador de Vives in 1833. It is now owned by the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust , who operates it as a museum...

 plantation in barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...

 Magueyes
Magueyes
Magueyes is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Together with Cerrillos, Machuelo Arriba, Maragüez, Monte Llano, Portugues, Sabanetas, and Tibes, Magueyes is one of the municipality's eight interior barrios. The name of this barrio is of native Indian...

, now a coffee mill
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...

 museum, used the force of Río Cañas in the early 20th century to turn its coffee bean grinders via an elaborate system of water channels.

Course

The river runs in a southernly direction parallel to Puerto Rico route PR-123, the old road from Adjuntas to Ponce. Continuing south and running parallel to Route 123, the river enters the city of Ponce in the area of barrio Magueyes Urbano
Magueyes
Magueyes is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Together with Cerrillos, Machuelo Arriba, Maragüez, Monte Llano, Portugues, Sabanetas, and Tibes, Magueyes is one of the municipality's eight interior barrios. The name of this barrio is of native Indian...

 (the urban zone of barrio Magueyes
Magueyes
Magueyes is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Together with Cerrillos, Machuelo Arriba, Maragüez, Monte Llano, Portugues, Sabanetas, and Tibes, Magueyes is one of the municipality's eight interior barrios. The name of this barrio is of native Indian...

) before approaching PR-132, the country road from Ponce to Peñuelas. This area of PR-132 is known as Calle Villa Final, and the river crosses Calle Villa Final immediately before the entrance to Urbanizacion Jardines del Caribe from Calle Villa Final. The river then runs parallel to Jardines del Caribe's East Main Street, and crosses Avenida Las Americas (PR-163), next to the intersection of PR-163 and PR-500. Continuing south, Río Cañas merges with Río Pastillo
Río Pastillo
Río Pastillo is a river in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is also known as "Rio Marueño". Together with Rio Canas, Rio Pastillo forms Rio Matilde. Rio Pastillo is one of the 14 rivers in the municipality.-Origin:...

, as it approaches Calle Barayama behind Urbanizacion Río Cañas, to become Río Matilde
Río Matilde
The Río Matilde is a short river in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. It forms from the confluence of Rio Pastillo and Rio Canas This river is one of the 14 rivers in the municipality and, forming at an altitude of just , it is the river forming at the lowest altitute in Ponce.-Origin:At ...

. Less than one mile further south Río Matilde empties into the Caribbean Sea at barrio Playa
Playa (Ponce)
La Playa de Ponce, Ponce Playa, La Playa, or simply Playa, is one of the thirty-one barrios that comprise the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Bucaná, Canas, Vayas, and Capitanejo, Playa is one of the municipality's five coastal barrios...

.

The Government of Puerto Rico has plans to canalize this river.

Surrounding geology

The southern end of Río Canas is known to be surrounded by significant amounts of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

. This area made the ideal place for the location of a cement factory, and Ponce Cement
Ponce Cement, Inc.
Ponce Cement, Inc. was a cement and limestone manufacturer in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The company was located at the intersection of PR-123 and PR-500, in Barrio Magueyes. It was founded in 1941 by Antonio Ferre Bacallao, a Puerto Rican industrialist of Cuban origin. In 2002, Ponce Cement, Inc...

 was built near Río Canas.

Fish life

In 2008, a study was made to determine fish life in Río Canas, Ponce, Puerto Rico. The study found that at 5.6 km NNW of Ponce the river runs at an altituide of 220.8m; at 5.0 km NNW of Ponce it runs at an altitude of 164.2m; at 3.1 km NW of Ponce it runs at an altitude of 57.7m; and at 2.0 km NW of Ponce it runs at an altitude of 30.0m.

See also


External links

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