Pasión River

Ferry across the Río La Pasión at Sayaxché

The approximately 345 km long Río La Pasión has two source rivers - the Río Machaquilá and the Río Cancuén. He in turn forms - together with the Río Salinas - one of the two headwaters of the Río Usumacinta and drained large areas of southern Petén lowlands of Guatemala.

History

Are located on the banks of the Río La Pasión several archaeologically significant Mayan sites such as Dos Pilas, Tamarindito, Altar de Sacrificios, Aguateca, Seibal or Machaquilá, indicating that the river back to the time of the Maya and probably much earlier a significant lifeline for the people of the area represented.

Current usage

As the Río Usumacinta in the west and the Río San Pedro in northern Petén is also the Río La Pasión - despite the growth in road traffic - passenger and freight boats sail still smaller. In addition, the ferry service plays a not unimportant role. The riparian zones are mostly covered with dense jungle, but this should not obscure the fact that long-range land in the hinterland are used as fields or grazing land for agricultural purposes.

Fauna

A rare sight along the Río La Pasión river are crocodiles or toucans. Herons can be seen frequently in the river because there are enough fish. Also, river turtles sometimes bask on logs, rocks or sand banks on the shore.