Zaña River
| Zaña River | |
|---|---|
The Zaña River near its mouth. | |
| Location | |
| Peru | Lambayeque, Cajamarca regions |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • coordinates | 6°59′56″S 76°56′24″W / 6.999°S 76.940°W |
| • elevation | 3,750 metres (12,300 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• coordinates | 6°55′41″S 78°53′35″W / 6.928°S 78.893°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 119 kilometres (74 miles) |
| Basin size | 2,158 square kilometres (833 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 202 million m3 (annual); 6.5 m3 per second average |
The Zaña River (also Saña River) is a small river in northern Peru. The river is 119 kilometres (74 miles) in length and begins in the Andes of Cajamarca Region and ends at the Pacific Ocean in Lambayeque Region. In the lower part of the river valley, where the river flows through the coastal desert of Peru, the cultivation of irrigated crops is extensive and the Zaña is usually dry near its mouth. Upriver, at higher elevations in the Andes, precipitation is much greater and downstream floods are common. One such flood wiped out the important city of Zaña in 1720. Zaña has been rebuilt, but has never regained its former prominence as an urban center. Other towns in the lower valley are Mocupe, Cayalti, Nueva Arica, and Oyotun.
The most distant source of the Zaña River is at an elevation of 3,750 metres (12,300 ft) at coordinates 6.998° S latitude and 78.83° W longitude. The village of Udima is near the source of the river.