Chiquito River (Ponce, Puerto Rico)

Chiquito River
Río Chiquito in Montes Llanos, Ponce
Map
Native nameRío Chiquito (Spanish)
Location
CommonwealthPuerto Rico
MunicipalityPonce
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationBarrio Montes Llanos
 • coordinates18°01′59″N 66°36′49″W / 18.0330201°N 66.6135062°W / 18.0330201; -66.6135062[1]
 • elevation1,170 feet (360 m)[3]
Mouth 
 • location
Río Portugués
 • elevation
98 feet (30 m)[4]
Length9.5 km (5.9 mi)[2]
Basin features
ProgressionMontes Llanos
Portugués
River systemRío Bucaná
Tributaries 
 • leftQuebrada del Pastillo
Map showing the location of Río Chiquito among the other rivers in the municipality. The area in pink represents the urban zone of the city

Chiquito River (Spanish: Río Chiquito) is a river in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico.[5] This river feeds into Río Portugués in the sector called Parras,[6] about 0.5 km (0.3 mi) north of the intersection of PR-504 and PR-505. It has its origin in the mountains west of Montes Llanos.[7][8] Río Chiquito is fed by Quebrada del Pastillo.[9] This river is one of the 14 rivers in the municipality of Ponce.

Origin

Río Chiquito has its origin in barrio Montes Llanos at an altitude of 390 meters (1,280 ft).[10] It forms in the area north of Camino Paseo del Río and west of Camino Paseo Panorámico II, in south central Montes Llanos, about half kilometer west of PR-505, and approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the northern terminus of PR-504.[11]

Course

Río Chiquito runs from south central barrio Montes Llanos into north central barrio Portugués dividing barrio Portugués lengthwise from north to south into essentially two equal halves.[12] It crosses several times the east-to-west Camino La Cuchilla Road as it continues southward. After this, the river is found next to the western edge of PR-588, also known as Camino Río Chiquito, until PR-588 comes to its southern terminus where it meets PR-504. From this point onward Río Chiquito runs southward along the western edge of PR-504[13] for approximately 600 meters (2,000 ft) until it crosses PR-504 eastward.

The following table summarizes the course of Río Chiquito in terms of roads crossed. Roads are listed as the river flows from its origin in the mountains of Montes Llanos, north of the city of Ponce, to its feeding into Río Portugués in Barrio Portugués (N/A = Data not available):

No. Barrio Road Road's
km marker
NBI ID[14] Bridge name
(if any)
Direction
(of bridge traffic)
Coordinates Notes
1 Montes Llanos Camino La Zarza not marked 29141 Unnamed Both 18°4′6.492″N 66°37′14.1594″W / 18.06847000°N 66.620599833°W / 18.06847000; -66.620599833 0.1 km NW of Iglesia Catolica San Vicente de Paul, Bo. Portugués; 0.3 km off PR-588 at km 0.3
2 Montes Llanos PR-588 1.5 17841 Unnamed Both 18°3′47.268″N 66°37′6.7794″W / 18.06313000°N 66.618549833°W / 18.06313000; -66.618549833 0.3 km NE of INT PR-504 and PR-588
3 Portugués PR-504 2.3 N/A Unnamed Both 18°3′3.636″N 66°36′55.368″W / 18.05101000°N 66.61538000°W / 18.05101000; -66.61538000 0.5 km N of Iglesia Bautista Río Chiquito, IBRC (ICRC is located at PR-504, km 1.8). Note: From this point south, Río Chiquito flows east of PR-504)
4 Portugués Camino Reraplen not marked N/A Unnamed Both 18°2′51.9″N 66°36′45.72″W / 18.047750°N 66.6127000°W / 18.047750; -66.6127000 Camino Reraplan, across Iglesia Bautista de Río Chiquito
5 Portugués PR-504 1.0 14231 Unnamed Both 18°2′30.7674″N 66°36′33.0474″W / 18.041879833°N 66.609179833°W / 18.041879833; -66.609179833 3 km NE of Ponce; between Av Federal (aka, Calle A) & Ponce Housing
6 Portugués Calle A (aka, Av Federal) not marked 15241 Unnamed Both 18°2′30.0834″N 66°36′30.0234″W / 18.041689833°N 66.608339833°W / 18.041689833; -66.608339833 0.1 km E of PR-504 at PR-504, km. ; 1.5 km N of Plaza Las Delicias [This was part of the former course of the river]
7 Portugués PR-10 6.0 N/A Unnamed Both 18°2′20.0034″N 66°36′22.2834″W / 18.038889833°N 66.606189833°W / 18.038889833; -66.606189833 1.5 km N of Plaza Las Delicias [This was part of the former course of the river]
8 Portugués Calle La Plata not marked 22631 Unnamed Both 18°2′10.5714″N 66°36′27.2874″W / 18.036269833°N 66.607579833°W / 18.036269833; -66.607579833 1.5 km NW of Plaza Las Delicias; at Comunidad Dos Rios. [This was part of the former course of the river]
 

Former and current course

For flood control purposes, Río Chiquito was diverted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers so that it would merge with Río Portugués about one-half-mile (0.80 km) further north from its original natural merge, this merging them in a less populated area that where they initially merged.

Former course

The former course of Río Chiquito, prior to being diverted by the US Army Corps of Engineers, followed from the area just east of PR-504, at N 18.04262 W 66.60911, and headed southeast crossing Avenida Federal (aka, Calle A), and continued southeast for some 500 feet (150 m) after which it took a southerly turn before crossing today's PR-10 (PR-10 had not been built then). After crossing the area of today's PR-10 it then took a southwesterly course for some 1,000 feet (300 m), becoming the boundary line between Barrio Portugués and Barrio Machuelo Abajo After these 3,000-foot (910 m) runs, and continuing as the boundary between the two barrios, Río Chiquito took a sharp southerly turn to cross Calle La Plata in the neighborhood of Villa Dos Rios. From there, and still marking the barrios boundary, it traveled some 300 feet (91 m), still southward, before taking a sharp turn west-southwest (WSW) to squeeze itself between Calle Barrio Coquí of Barrio Portugués to the west and Calle Platino of Barrio Machuelo Arriba to the east. A few hundred feet after this Río Chiquito took its final turn, to the west, before it came to an end at its feeding into Río Portugués at N 18.03258 W 66.61397.

Current course

Once the US Army Corps of Engineers diverted its course of Río Chiquito, the last kilometer or so (about 0.7 mile) of the river disappeared, as Río Chiquito came to feed into Río Portugués some 0.5 km north of its initial feeding point.

Running southward along the eastern edge of PR-504, Río Chiquito now crosses PR-504 to feed into Río Portugués some 300 meters (980 ft) west of the PR-504 bridge, where Río Chiquito ends. This southern terminus for the river occurs 250 feet (76 m) north of PR-10, 250 feet east of PR-503, and 250 feet west of PR-504.[15] At its mouth, Río Chiquito has an elevation of 98 feet.[16]

The net effect of the change in the course of the river is that Río Chiquito now feeds into Río Portugués immediately north of PR-10, whereas prior to the change it fed into Río Portugués to the south of PR-10.

See also

References

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Río Chiquito
  2. ^ Maptest. Archived 18 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  3. ^ Maptest. Archived 18 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  4. ^ Feature Query Results. US Geological Survey. Feature ID 1612466. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  5. ^ Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Recursos Naturales. Ponce Ciudad Señorial. Archived 21 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Ponce en 1831. Sylvia Zavala Trias. In, "Antepasados Esclavos". Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  7. ^ Ponce en 1831. Sylvia Zavala Trias. In, "Antepasados Esclavos". Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  8. ^ Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Recursos Naturales. Ponce Ciudad Señorial. Archived 21 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Ponce en 1831. Sylvia Zavala Trias. In, "Antepasados Esclavos". Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  10. ^ Maptest. Archived 18 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  11. ^ Maptest. Archived 18 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  12. ^ Maptest. Archived 18 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  13. ^ Maptest. Archived 18 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
  14. ^ National Bridge Inventory Data: Puerto Rico, Ponce. Archived 22 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine James Baughn. BridgeReports.com 2018. Accessed 26 November 2018.
  15. ^ Maptest. Archived 18 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
  16. ^ Feature Query Results. US Geological Survey. Feature ID 1612466. Retrieved 24 October 2011.