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ABSTRACT
Small rivers draining high-rainfall basins and mountainous terrain west of the Cordilleras in South America have
disproportionately high water discharge and sediment load. Fifteen rivers in western Colombia discharge a combined
254 km3 yr21 or 8020 m3 s21 of water into the Pacific. Sediment yield is strongly correlated with basin area (R2 =
0.97), and sediment load is correlated with water discharge (R2 = 0.73 ). Rio San Juan occupies a 16,465-km2 basin with
a mean annual rainfall of 7277 mm. It has the highest water discharge (2550 m3 s21), sediment load (16 # 10 6 t yr21),
and basin-wide sediment yield (1150 t km22 yr21) on the entire west coast of South America. Rio Pata drains a 23,700km2 basin with a mean annual rainfall of 2821 mm. Its water discharge, sediment load, and basin-wide sediment
yield are 1291 m3 s21, 14 t yr21, and 972 t km22 yr21, respectively. Rio San Juan and Rio Pata deliver 30 # 10 6 t of
suspended sediment annually into the Pacific. Analysis of data for an additional 22 rivers in Colombia that drain
into the Caribbean Sea indicates that the Pacific rivers have at least twice the sediment yield compared with the
larger Rio Magdalena. Our results confirm that the Pacific rivers of Colombia need to be accounted for in global
sediment budgets.
Introduction
equately documented, although their water discharge and sediment load are of the same magnitude as rivers with much larger drainage areas, for
example, Rio Magdalena. Monitoring of water and
sediment transports are usually made only in the
largest and most accessible rivers, although rivers
with relatively small drainage basins can be just as
important (Milliman 1979; Milliman and Syvitski
1992).
Milliman and Meade (1983) estimated the sediment yield for the entire west coast of South America to be 500 t km22 yr21, based on data from three
Peruvian watersheds. Milliman and Syvitski (1992)
used a regression equation to increase the estimate
of sediment yield to 1200 t km22 yr21 for the west
coast of South America, based on an average watershed size of 15,000 km2. However, they acknowledged the large uncertainty of this estimate and the
general lack of available data from this part of the
world. The western slope of the Cordilleras, between Tumaco and Cabo Corrientes in Colombia
(fig. 1), receives between 2000 and 8000 mm of rainfall annually (Eslava 1992, 1993) and consists of a
Sediment fluxes from small rivers in humid tropical regions were most certainly underestimated in
early global sediment budgets (Holeman 1968; Lisitzin 1972; Jansen and Painter 1974; Meybeck 1976;
Alekin 1978; Unesco 1979, 1992). Milliman (1990),
Milliman and Meade (1983), and Milliman et al.
(1995) have made the argument that the discharge
of sediment to the oceans from small tropical rivers, draining steep mountain slopes adjacent to the
ocean, may have greater impact on the world sediment budget than previously thought. The focus
on small sediment-rich rivers has primarily been
directed toward southeast Asia, but rivers draining
the high-rainfall areas of the western Cordilleras
(Andes) of Colombia may also have an impact on
global budgets. These Colombian rivers are inadManuscript received June 1, 1999; accepted September 22,
1999.
1
Also: Departamento de Geologa, Area de Ciencias del Mar,
Universidad EAFIT (Escuela de Administracion, Finanzas, y Tecnologas), A. A. 3300, Medellin, Colombia.
2
Also: Departamento de Geoqumica, Universidade Federal
Fluminense, CEP-24. 020-007 Niteroi, Brazil.
[The Journal of Geology, 2000, volume 108, p. 1733] q 2000 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 0022-1376/2000/10801-0002$01.00
17
Figure 1. Map of the Pacific and Caribbean drainage basins of Colombia, showing the principal rivers, the northern
(A), central (B), and southern (C) Pacific basins, hydrological stations (squares), where sediment load and water
discharge were measured; meteorological stations (bold numbers and circles), with data used to calculate runoff from
the watersheds; the Western, Central, and Eastern Cordilleras (solid triangles); and Rio Sanguianga (R. Sng). The
hydrological station at Los Nortes (square) along Rio Patia is shown to the left of the metereological station no. 10.
Journal of Geology
WAT E R D I S C H A R G E A N D S E D I M E N T L O A D
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20
Figure 2. Rio San Juan drainage basin, showing the principal tributaries and the four meteorological-hydrological
stations (circles), with data used to simulate water discharges: Istmina (M1), El Salado (M2), Noanama (M3), and
Malaguita (M4). Squares represent hydrological stations. Solid triangles represent the Western Cordilleras, the main
peaks (Cerros Caramanta, La Serna, Tamana, Tatama), and the mountain chains (Serrana del Baudo and Istmo de
San Pablo), which form the western and northern boundaries of the San Juan drainage basin.
QR = r #
Df
# dA
r
(1)
(2)
Eo = 1.0 # 10 9 # e24620/T
(3)
Table 1. Drainage Basin, Annual Rainfall, Measured Water and Sediment Transports, and Calculated Yields for
Colombian Rivers
River
Pacific coast:
North Basin
Rio Baudo
Rio San Juan
Tado
Malaguita
Central Basin
Rio Dagua
Rio Anchicaya
Rio Cajambre
Rio Naya Yurimangui
Rio Yurumangui
Rio San Juan Micay
Rio Saija
Rio Timbiqu
Rio Guapi
Rio Iscuande
Rio Tapaje
Rio Sanguianga
Others
South Basin
Rio Pata
La Fonda
Puente Guascas
Los Nortes
Puente Pusmeo
Rio Chagui/Cuna
Rio Mira
Pipiguay
Total Pacific
Caribbean Coast:
Uraba Gulf
Rio Atrato
Rio Chigorodo
Rio Leon
Rio Vijagual
Rio Grande
Rio Zungo
Rio Apartado
Rio Carepa
Rio Currulao
Rio Guadalito
Rio Turbo
Caribbean Basin
Rio Mulatos
Rio Sinu
Rio Canal Dique
Rio Magdalena
Guajira Basin
Rio Piedras
Rio Gaira
Rio Guachaca
Rio Don Diego
Rio Ancho
Rio Palomino
Rio Ranchera
Total Caribbean
Basin area
(#103 km2)
Annual
rainfall
(mm)
21.8
5.4
16.4
1.6
14.3
26
1.7
1.1
1.9
2
1.4
4.4
1.4
1.2
2.9
2.1
2.1
1.5
2.2
28.5
23.7
1.8
8.9
14.5
14.1
)
4.8
.2
5600
6373
7277
7410
8117
4100
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
2000
2821
1877
833
1410
1410
3054
5546
8838
76.3
Sediment
discharge
(#106 t yr21)
Sediment yield
(t km22 yr21)
Years
of data
)
23.68
82.1
8.23
82.1
)
3.97
3.53
8.64
13.15
)
19.11
5.23
4.64
11.26
6.71
5.52
2.76
)
)
40.74
1.8
7.1
10.39
10.34
4.21
23.43
3.56
)
)
)
2.6
16.42
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
.88
15.39
8.82
13.71
)
.234
.234
)
)
)
1570
1150
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
478
1714
608
972
)
)
856
)
19801984
19701996
19861994
1978
)
19821993
19821993
19801984
19851993
19851993
19811993
19811993
19811993
19811993
19801984
19801984
19801984
19801984
)
19721993
19811993
19721993
19851993
19721993
19681993
19801993
19821993
5900
254.37
30.13
1053
35.7
.1
.7
.04
.07
.05
.16
.15
.23
.08
.16
5318
2485
2485
2485
2485
2485
2485
2485
2485
2485
2485
81.08
.46
2.01
.06
.13
.07
.14
.16
.31
.08
.12
11.26
.2153
.7701
.0219
.0438
.0292
.0620
.3175
.2373
.0310
.0730
315
1088
1007
548
626
584
585
2048
1023
369
445
19821993
19771993
19781993
19771993
19781993
19771993
19841993
19781993
19791993
19791993
19661993
1.02
10.18
)
257.43
2485
1750
1750
1700
.33
11.76
9.43
228.1
.2117
6.1
4.76
143.9
208
589
)
559
19781993
19631993
19811993
19751995
.14
.03
.26
.52
.54
.68
2.24
850
850
450
450
450
450
450
.15
.08
.45
1.14
.47
.80
.39
)
.0014
.0113
.0226
.0288
.0511
.1022
)
42
43
43
53
75
46
19741993
19781993
19731993
19731993
19711993
19731993
19761993
541
311.06
Water
discharge
(km3 yr21)
337.68
168.25
Note. The discharge for Rio Sanquianga is based on data before its capture of a portion of the Rio Pata discharge in 1976. The
load of Rio Mira at Pipiguay is not included in the total sediment load of the Pacific basins. Normalized sediment yield for the
river basins was estimated by dividing sediment load (t yr21) by drainage basin areas (km2). Sediment load information were gathered
from Instituto de Hidrologa, Metereologa, y Estudios Ambientales.
22
the northern zone lies the rain forestcovered Serrana de Baudo coastal range with elevations up to
700 m. Between this coastal range and the Cordilleras lies the 30100-km-wide valleys of the northflowing Rio Atrato and the south-flowing Rio San
Juan (fig. 2). The northern zone receives on average
5600 mm of rainfall annually and has a mean air
temperature of 26.27C (Snow 1976; Eslava 1992).
North of Cabo Corrientes (fig. 1), the coast is characterized by cliffed upland coastal plains and the
absence of alluvial plains (Cornish 1952; West
1957).
The Pacific central zone includes the watersheds
of the Dagua, Anchicaya, Cajambre, Raposo, Yurumangu, San Juan de Micay, Iscuande, Amarales,
Satinga, and Sanguianga rivers. It receives on average 4100 mm of rainfall annually and has a mean
air temperature of 25.97C (Eslava 1992). The Pacific
southern zone consists of the drainage basins of the
Pata and Mira rivers, receives on average 2000 mm
of rainfall annually, and has a mean air temperature
of 26.47C (Eslava 1993; Lobo-Guerrero 1993). Much
of the central and southern zones consist of lowelevation alluvial plains and river deltas with associated barrier islands, beach ridge systems, and
mangrove-covered tidal flats (von Prahl et al. 1990).
The mangroves are largely distributed along the
central and southern sectors of the coast, covering
283,700 ha (INDERENA 1991; Alvarez-Leon 1993).
The entire coast is characterized by a semidiurnal
tide with an average range increasing from 2.5 m
at Tumaco in the south to 3.5 m at Buenaventura,
where the spring tide range is 4.9 m. Ebb-tidal deltas are prominent and extend far seaward (Martnez
et al. 1995). The landward geography is characterized by hilly coastal lowlands (elevation 30120 m)
and rain forests, and it is only further inland that
hills rise steeply along the slope of the Cordilleras
that are also covered with dense rain forests up to
elevations of 1500 m (West 1957; Snow 1976).
Tectonically, the entire Pacific coast is near the
zone of subduction between the Nazca and South
American plates, and earthquakes of magnitude 7
or higher occur from time to time. Severe earthquakes, accompanied by destructive tsunamis, impacted the Colombian coast in 1836, 1868, 1906,
and 1979 (Lockridge and Smith 1984; Martnez et
al. 1995). From Buenaventura south to the border
with Ecuador, the coast has been subsiding
throughout the Holocene and late Pleistocene
(Herd et al. 1981). During the Tumaco earthquake
of 1979, with a magnitude of 8.0, coastal areas adjacent to the area of faulting subsided as much as
1.6 m, while uplift occurred offshore on the edge
of the continental shelf (Herd et al. 1981).
Journal of Geology
WAT E R D I S C H A R G E A N D S E D I M E N T L O A D
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24
(fig. 6B). The relationship between load and discharge has been previously discussed for North Atlantic drainages (Meade 1982, 1988), other basins
of the United States (e.g., Colby 1956), the eastern
basins of Australia (Douglas 1967), catchments in
New Zealand (Griffiths 1981), rivers of Morocco
(Dunne 1979), and major rivers (Milliman 1979;
Milliman and Meade 1983; Milliman and Syvitski
1992). Although some studies have shown the tendency for sediment yields to increase for high values of runoff or precipitation, especially in mountain environments (e.g., see Douglas 1973; Dunne
1979), there is seemingly no simple relationship
between climate and sediment yield. According to
Walling and Webb (1983), geology, relief, land use,
and catchment size are of greater importance than
climate in controlling sediment yield.
The Rio San Juan water discharge varies significantly both seasonally and interannually. The
mean discharge is 2550 m3 s21, the seasonal root
mean square variation (rms) 659 m3 s21, and the
November peak floods usually exceed 4000 m3 s21
(fig. 7A). The discharge and peak flow of Rio San
Juan are significantly higher during La Nina years
as compared with El Nino years. We applied a 12mo equally weighted running mean filter to the
mean discharge of Rio San Juan and the monthly
Southern Oscillation Index (SOI; fig. 7) and then
regressed the smoothed discharge on the smoothed
SOI. The resulting coefficient of variation, R2 =
0.64, indicates that variations in the SOI explain
Journal of Geology
WAT E R D I S C H A R G E A N D S E D I M E N T L O A D
25
64% of the variability in discharge, with high values of the SOI corresponding to pronounced La
Nina conditions and high discharge of Rio San Juan.
This relationship is similar to the response of Rio
Orinoco but contrary to rivers in Peru, Rio Guaiba
(Brazil), Rio Parana (Argentina; Depetris et al. 1996;
Goniadzki 1999), and other rivers, which experience significantly higher discharges during the
warm El Nino phase and are located south of the
stalled front, which extends approximately from
Quito to Sao Paulo during the El Nino phase.
26
aguita, and the corresponding mean annual discharge rates from the four subareas were 445, 794,
905, and 558 m3 s21, respectively. The mean and
seasonal rms calculated freshwater discharge for
Rio San Juan into the Pacific is 2702 5 565 m3 s21
based on the 22-yr normal temperature and rainfall
data.
To validate the model, simulated discharge for
Rio San Juan, 19741994, was compared with the
measured discharge for the same period. The discharge calculated from the model (2702 5 565 m3
s21) was not significantly different at the 95% confidence level (t = 0.33; p = 1.80; P 1 0.05, paired
two-tailed t-test; Moore and McCabe 1993) than
from measured discharge (2550 5 659 m3 s21). The
agreement indicates that the model is robust and
Journal of Geology
Table 2.
WAT E R D I S C H A R G E A N D S E D I M E N T L O A D
27
Summary Data for the 13 Meteorological Stations Used in the Runoff Calculations
River (measured
discharge [m3 s21])
Rio San Juan (2550 5 659):
1. Istmina
2. Salado
3. Noanama
4. Malaguita
Latitude/
longitude
(N/W)
057099/76741
047559/767509
047409/767569
047119/777149
Elevation
(m)
90
45
40
40
7410
7447
6129
8117
.88
.72
.68
.75
Simulated
discharge
(m3s21)
445
794
905
558
5
5
5
5
53
116
236
202
2702 5 565
057319/767589
30
5400
6373
.69
782 5 181
017209/787099
017349/787419
950
16
273
3654
8838
3054
.85
.53
650 5 120
189 5 128
839 5 213
3927
027099/777039
017179/777229
017429/777299
580
2590
350
Total Pata
Rio Atrato (2571 5 632):
11. LLoro
12. Tagach
13. Domingodo
2145
4625
6825
2870
Df/r (2)
16,465
Total Mira
Rio Pata (328 5 99):
8. La Fonda
9. Narino
10. Puente Pusmeo
Area (km2)
Annual
rainfall
(mm)
1846
3471
12,314
1877
2100
1410
.64
.52
.20
300 5 188
17,631
057309/767349
067149/767489
077119/777029
90
20
11
Total Atrato
4869
12,152
3475
20,496
70 5 48
120 5 86
110 5 140
7786
6441
3465
.87
.69
.50
828 5 158
1718 5 474
194 5 125
2740 5 678
Note. Simulated and measured mean monthly water discharges and seasonal rms variations for the largest rivers of the pacific
coast, the San Juan, Pata, Mira, and Baudo, and the Rio Atrato (Caribbean coast).
Source. Hydrological and climatological data were gathered from Instituto de Hidrologa, Metereologa, y Estudios Ambientales
(1995), Snow (1976), and Eslava (1992, 1993). Analysis was done using equation (1).
shows the drainage areas, water discharge, and sediment transports for the largest Pacific and Caribbean rivers.
Rio Pata has the largest drainage basin of the
Colombian rivers draining into the Pacific (23,700
km2). From the upper river, sediment loads measure
0.88, 15.39, 13.71, and 8.82 #106 t yr21, as gauged
at La Fonda, Puente Guascas, Puente Pusmeo, and
Los Nortes, respectively (table 1). Based on daily
measurements from 1988 to 1995 by IDEAM at Los
Nortes, 9 km downstream of Puente Pusmeo and
representing an upstream basin area of 14,500 km2,
the maximum recorded sediment load was
245.8 # 10 3 t d21 in November 1993, and the
monthly mean sediment load measured 57.76 #
10 3 t, corresponding to an annual sediment load of
21.1 # 10 6 t yr21. The sediment yield for Rio Pata
ranges from 972 t km22 yr21 at Puente Pusmeo to
1714 t km22 yr21 at Puente Guascas for the most
upstream portion of the river. This latter location
has the highest yield of any of the Colombian
rivers.
The upper portion of Rio Mira has an annual sed-
iment load of 0.234 # 10 6 t yr21, as gauged at Pipiguay, and a sediment yield of 856 t km22 yr21.
Because this gauging station is located 130 km upstream and represents only 4% of the total basin
area, we did not use this load for the Pacific budget.
Considering the two gauged rivers at their furthest
downstream stations, San Juan and Pata, the measured annual sediment load of these rivers into the
Pacific Ocean is 30.13 # 10 6 t yr21 (table 1). Although Rio Atrato has its watershed west of the
Cordilleras, it discharges into the Caribbean Sea.
Therefore, Rio Atrato was not included in the Pacific budget.
The trend between sediment yield and basin area
for the Pacific rivers was determined by log-linear
regression of sediment yield on basin area (fig. 8).
We only included data for the most downstream
gauging locations on the San Juan, Pata, and Atrato
rivers. Although Rio Atrato discharges into the Caribbean Sea, it was included in the analysis because
its drainage basin is located west of the Cordilleras
and has the same drainage basin characteristics as
the San Juan and Pata rivers, for example, head-
28
Journal of Geology
WAT E R D I S C H A R G E A N D S E D I M E N T L O A D
ing drainage areas are 1661 and 8900 km2, respectively. Both rivers descend rapidly from the high
Cordilleras to their alluvial plains. Over a distance
!75 km, Rio San Juan falls abruptly from an elevation of 3900 to 100 m at Tado, and the Iro, Condoto, Tamana, and Sip tributaries (fig. 2) descend
from elevations between 4200 and 2500 m in !50
km to join Rio San Juan in the upper watershed at
an elevation of 90 m. Likewise, Rio Pata descends
from its headwaters at 4580 m elevation to 400 m
at La Hoz de Minama over a distance of 150 km.
Since the San Juan drainage basin as a whole has a
greater sediment yield compared with the Pata
drainage basin (table 1), the explanation for the
higher yield of the upstream portions of the Pata
implies greater sediment deposition (storage) on the
alluvial plains of the Pata. In the case of Rio San
Juan, the control exerted by the Tertiary formations
in the middle and lower courses of the river results
in a much more narrow alluvial plain as compared
with Rio Pata and less sediment deposition/storage
within the drainage basin.
In general, climate determines where tropical
weathering occurs, while tectonics increase erosion
rates and dictate the composition of erosion products (Stallard 1988). Drainage basins with intense
tectonic activity usually have high sediment yields
(Meade 1988; Milliman and Syvitski 1992), as in
the case of Rio Pata. Furthermore, the presence of
unstable and cation-rich minerals in the suspended
load and bedload of rivers draining the Andean basins suggests that rapid erosion is indeed occurring.
Thus, along the western slopes of the Pacific basins,
high temperatures, humid conditions, and abundant vegetation in these high-rainfall basins promote rapid chemical weathering and high denudation rates.
Besides climate and weathering factors, other
processes such as landslides lead to slumps that
increase sediment loads. In humid uplands, landslides are the dominant mass-wasting process (Hovius et al. 1997, 1998). The Colombian Pacific basins
are characterized by the presence of active fault
systems, high precipitation rates (reaching as much
as 12 m in the Atrato watershed), slopes frequently
steeper than 357, and dense tropical rain forests
(West 1957; Instituto Geografico Agustn Codazzi
1995; Correa 1996). According to Hovius et al.
(1997), these conditions are favorable to the occurrence of rapid mass wasting caused mainly by hillslope erosion processes such as landslides, slumps,
and slides.
29
30
Further Comparisons
Journal of Geology
WAT E R D I S C H A R G E A N D S E D I M E N T L O A D
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was funded with resources from Instituto Colombiano para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia
y Tecnologa Francisco Jose de Caldas (COLCIENCIAS), grant BID-COLCIENCIAS 1216-09153-96 (Proyecto Delta del Rio San Juan), and Universidad EAFIT-Departamento de Geologa. We
thank I. Correa, J. L. Gonzalez, G. Lopez, and J. G.
Ramos of Proyecto Delta San Juan for their assistance and support. We would like to thank the director of Sector MarinoCOLCIENCIAS, L. Botero,
and the director of Departamento de GeologaUniversidad EAFIT, G. Bedoya, for their support
during this project. We thank J. D. Milliman for his
suggestions and extremely constructive comments
on an earlier draft of this article.
REFERENCES CITED
32
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