Cesar River

This article is about the river in Colombia. For the river in Chile, see Cesar River, Chile.

The Cesar River (Spanish: Río Cesar) is a river in northern Colombia which is a part of the Magdalena Basin. It flows through the Cesar-Ranchería Basin and separates the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta from the mountain ranges of the Serranía del Perijá, an extension of the Cordillera Oriental. It flows north to south, down from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the Guajira Department onto the Cesar Department and flowing into the Zapatosa Marsh where it turns to the southwest and discharges into the Magdalena River after 280 kilometers.^[2][1] Valledupar is the only major city on its route.

Cesar River
The Cesar River basin, Cesar Department in color
Location
Country	Colombia
Department	Cesar Department
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Colombia
Mouth
• location	Magdalena River
• coordinates	8.9961°N 73.9678°W / 8.9961; -73.9678
Length	280 kilometres (170 mi) [1]
Basin size	9,832 square kilometres (3,796 sq mi)
Basin features
Cities	Valledupar

Tributaries

• Guatapuri River^[3]
• Ariguani River^[3]
• Badillo River^[3]
• Villanueva River, 43 kilometres (27 mi) in length out of the Cerro Pintao.^[4]
• Various streams of the Zapatosa Marshes including the
  • Bartolazo wetlands;
  • Pancuiche wetlands;
  • Pancuichito wetlands;
  • La Palma wetlands;
  • Santo Domingo wetlands; and
  • Tiojuancho wetlands.