Tecolutla River

The Tecolutla River is a river in the state of Veracruz in Mexico, and the main drainage of the historical and cultural region of Totonacapan. It is principally fed by four rivers that rise in the Sierra Norte de Puebla: from north to south, they are the Necaxa, the Lajajalpan (or Laxaxalpan), the Tecuantepec and the Apulco. These rivers converge in the municipality of Espinal, Veracruz, and from here the Tecolutla flows about 100 km east through the coastal plain and the municipalities of Papantla and Gutiérrez Zamora to its mouth at the town of Tecolutla on the Gulf of Mexico, On its south bank the Tecolutla receives the Joloapan River near Paso del Correo, and the Chichicatzapan River via the Ostiones estuary near its mouth.

The furthest source of the Tecolutla is the Arroyo Zapata, located 20 km north of Huamantla, Tlaxcala at an elevation of 3500 m. This arroyo flows into the Coyuca River, which in turn drains into the Apulco. The total length of the river measured from this source is 375 km. The watershed drained by the Tecolutla covers an area of 7903 km2 and has a mean natural surface runoff of 6098 hm3 per year.

The first important hydroelectric facilities in Mexico were built in the Tecolutla watershed on the Necaxa River. Nevertheless, the Tecolutla is considered one of the most well-preserved rivers in the state of Veracruz and its floodplains are agriculturally productive. Vanilla may have been first cultivated by the Totonac in this area and has been an important part of their culture for centuries.