Lebrija River

For other uses, see Lebrija (disambiguation).

Lebrija River
Barranca de Lebrija corregimiento on the banks of the Lebrija river (Municipality of Aguachica).
Location of the Lebrija River in Colombia
Etymology	Antonio de Lebrija
Native name	Río Lebrija (Spanish)
Location
Country	Colombia
Departments	Santander Cesar
Provinces	Metropolitana - Yariguies / South of Cesar
Municipalities	Piedecuesta Girón Bucaramanga Lebrija Sabana de Torres Puerto Wilches
Physical characteristics
Source	Eastern Ranges
• location	Piedecuesta
• coordinates	7°05′59.1″N 73°00′55.1″W
• elevation	2,532 m (8,307 ft)[1]
Mouth	Magdalena River
• location	Puerto Wilches / Loma de Corredor (Aguachica)
• coordinates	8°07′55.3″N 73°46′24.5″W
• elevation	41.1 m (135 ft)[1]
Basin size	8,790 km^2 (3,390 sq mi)[2]
Discharge
• location	San Rafael
• minimum	55.1 m^3/s (1,950 cu ft/s)[3]
• maximum	706 m^3/s (24,900 cu ft/s)[4]
Basin features
River system	Magdalena Basin  Caribbean Sea

Lebrija River is a river of northern Colombia. It originates in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes in Piedecuesta and flows through the northern part of the department of Santander into the Magdalena River in Puerto Wilches.

Etymology

The Lebrija River is named after Antonio de Lebrija, the conquistador who discovered the river in 1529.

Description

source

mouth

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Source and mouth of the Lebrija River in the Santander Department

The Lebrija River originates at an altitude of 2,532 metres (8,307 ft) in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes to the northeast of Piedecuesta, Santander.[1] The Lebrija River, a confluence of the Suratá River and the Río de Oro,[5][6] flows northward through the municipalities Girón, capital of Santander Bucaramanga, Lebrija and Sabana de Torres to flow into the Magdalena River near the Loma de Corredor, Puerto Wilches,[7] Santander at an altitude of 41.1 m (135 ft).[1] In the lower course of the river, it forms the natural boundary between Santander and Cesar, close to the border with Bolívar. About 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the river, with a total basin size of 8,790 square kilometres (1.362×10^13 sq in), is navegable.[2]

Canyon near the El Ensueño waterfall, upper Lebrija river basin, in Piedecuesta

Geology

The type locality of the Girón Formation was identified along the Lebrija River in 1954.[8] At this type section, a total thickness of 4,650 metres (15,260 ft) of the formation was registered in 1968.[9] The type locality of the 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) thick La Paz Formation is also located near the river.[10]

Climate

The heavy rains over the capital district of Santander, the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga, have caused mortality of fish in the Lebrija River.[11] The Lebrija River transports an average of 4,739,000,000 cubic metres (1.674×10^11 cu ft) of water per year.[12] The maximum discharge at the San Rafael station has been registered in December with 706 cubic metres per second (24,900 cu ft/s) and the minimum in January with 55.1 cubic metres per second (1,950 cu ft/s).[3][4] The higher basin of Lebrija Alto has between 66 and 2,065 millimetres (2.6 and 81.3 in) of precipitation per year in a bimodal pattern. The rainy seasons are March to May and September to November with drier periods from December to February and June to August. The temperature ranges from 0 and 35 °C (32 and 95 °F), the relative humidity reached 81% and the hours of sunshine vary between 1472 and 1913.[13]

Flora and fauna

Vismia baccifera

Emerald-eyed tree frog (Hypsiboas crepitans)

Main article: Biodiversity of Colombia

Many species of flora and fauna have been registered in the Lebrija River basin. A total number of 761 species of which 172 birds, 77 insects, 124 mammals, 104 fish and 284 plant species have been noted at Rionegro, Santander.[14] The Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve is close to the Lebrija River in Bucaramanga.[15]

Flora

The following species and genera are noted in the upper part of the Lebrija River: Ocotea sp., Miconia sp., Guarea grandifolia, Hedyosmum bomplandianum, Guateria sp., Protium sp., Ochroma sp., Piper sp., Trema micrantha, Vismia baccifera, Urera caracasana, Cecropia sp. and Croton leptostachis.[16]

Fauna

Mammals

The following mammals have been registered in the upper and central Lebrija River basins:[14][16][17]

Name	Species	Image
Venezuelan red howler	Alouatta seniculus
gray-handed night monkey	Aotus griseimembra
white-fronted capuchin	Cebus albifrons
oncilla	Leopardus pardalis
southern tamandua	Tamandua tetradactyla
northern tamandua	Tamandua mexicana
silky anteater	Cyclopes didactylus
Brazilian porcupine	Coendou prehensilis
crab-eating fox	Cerdocyon thous
crab-eating raccoon	Procyon cancrivorus
collared peccary	Pecari tajacu
red brocket	Mazama americana
red-tailed squirrel	Sciurus granatensis
brown-throated sloth	Bradypus variegatus
Linnaeus's two-toed sloth	Choloepus didactylus
Hoffmann's two-toed sloth	Choloepus hoffmanni
tapeti	Sylvilagus brasiliensis
eastern cottontail	Sylvilagus floridanus
common opossum	Didelphis marsupialis
brown four-eyed opossum	Metachirus nudicaudatus
sepia short-tailed opossum	Monodelphis adusta
mountain paca	Agouti paca
lowland paca	Cuniculus paca
black agouti	Dasyprocta fuliginosa
Central American agouti	Dasyprocta punctata
kinkajou	Potos flavus
tayra	Eira barbara
long-tailed weasel	Mustela frenata
striped hog-nosed skunk	Conepatus semistriatus
neotropical otter	Lontra longicaudis
nine-banded armadillo	Dasypus novemcinctus
northern naked-tailed armadillo	Cabassous centralis
dusky rice rat	Melanomys caliginosus
Jamaican fruit bat	Artibeus jamaicensis
pygmy fruit-eating bat	Artibeus phaeotis
silky short-tailed bat	Carollia brevicauda
Seba's short-tailed bat	Carollia perspicillata
common vampire bat	Desmodus rotundus
common big-eared bat	Micronycteris microtis
Heller's broad-nosed bat	Platyrrhinus helleri
greater sac-winged bat	Saccopteryx bilineata
little yellow-shouldered bat	Sturnira lilium
great fruit-eating bat	Artibeus lituratus
chestnut short-tailed bat	Carollia castanea
Thomas's shaggy bat	Centronycteris centralis
Godman's long-tailed bat	Choeroniscus godmani
northern ghost bat	Diclidurus albus
black myotis	Myotis nigricans

Amphibians and reptiles

The following species have been registered in the central Lebrija River basin:[14]

Name	Species	Image
palm rocket frog	Rheobates palmatus
robber frog	Craugastor raniformis
emerald-eyed tree frog	Hypsiboas crepitans
yellow treefrog	Dendropsophus microcephalus
Fleischmann's glass frog	Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni
yellow-striped poison frog	Dendrobates truncatus
South American common toad	Rhinella margaritifera
	Dendropsophus subocularis
	Pristimantis miyatai
	Rulyrana adiazeta
	Allobates niputidea
fer-de-lance	Bothrops asper
blunthead tree snake	Imantodes cenchoa
red-nape snake	Ninia atrata
yellow-bellied snake	Coniophanes fissidens
	Micrurus dumerilii
turnip-tailed gecko	Thecadactylus rapicauda
	Polychrus marmoratus
	Anolis frenatus
	Anolis sulcifrons
	Lepidoblepharis xanthostigma
	Sphaerodactylus heliconiae

Birds

See also: Category:Birds of the Colombian Andes

The following species have been registered in the central Lebrija River basin:[14]

Name	Species	Image
rufous-tailed hummingbird	Amazilia tzacatl
orange-billed sparrow	Arremon aurantiirostris
bright-rumped attila	Attila spadiceus
rufous-capped warbler	Basileuterus rufifrons
orange-chinned parakeet	Brotogeris jugularis
cattle egret	Bubulcus ibis
great black hawk	Buteogallus urubitinga
Muscovy duck	Cairina moschata
bicolored wren	Campylorhynchus griseus
turkey vulture	Cathartes aura
grey-cheeked thrush	Catharus minimus
golden-headed manakin	Ceratopipra erythrocephala
dusky antbird	Cercomacra tyrannina
green kingfisher	Chloroceryle americana
green honeycreeper	Chlorophanes spiza
blue-tailed emerald	Chlorostilbon mellisugus
bananaquit	Coereba flaveola
spot-breasted woodpecker	Colaptes punctigula
crested bobwhite	Colinus cristatus
ruddy ground dove	Columbina talpacoti
black vulture	Coragyps atratus
white-bibbed manakin	Corapipo leucorrhoa
smooth-billed ani	Crotophaga ani
little tinamou	Crypturellus soui
green jay	Cyanocorax yncas
rufous-browed peppershrike	Cyclarhis gujanensis
black-faced dacnis	Dacnis lineata
violet-bellied hummingbird	Damophila julie
plain-brown woodcreeper	Dendrocincla fuliginosa
straight-billed woodcreeper	Dendroplex picus
yellow-bellied elaenia	Elaenia flavogaster
mountain elaenia	Elaenia frantzii
white-tailed kite	Elanus leucurus
checker-throated stipplethroat	Epinecrophylla fulviventris
thick-billed euphonia	Euphonia laniirostris
white-necked jacobin	Florisuga mellivora
spectacled parrotlet	Forpus conspicillatus
white-tailed hawk	Geranoaetus albicaudatus
wedge-billed woodcreeper	Glyphorynchus spirurus
white-breasted wood wren	Henicorhina leucosticta
scrub greenlet	Hylophilus flavipes
yellow-backed oriole	Icterus chrysater
Euler's flycatcher	Lathrotriccus euleri
white-tipped dove	Leptotila verreauxi
striped manakin	Machaeropterus regulus
white-bearded manakin	Manacus manacus
boat-billed flycatcher	Megarhynchus pitangua
tropical screech owl	Megascops choliba
red-crowned woodpecker	Melanerpes rubricapillus
southern nightingale-wren	Microcerculus marginatus
yellow-headed caracara	Milvago chimachima
tropical mockingbird	Mimus gilvus
ochre-bellied flycatcher	Mionectes oleagineus
buff-rumped warbler	Myiothlypis fulvicauda
rusty-margined flycatcher	Myiozetetes cayanensis
pauraque	Nyctidromus albicollis
Colombian chachalaca	Ortalis columbiana
chestnut-bellied seed finch	Oryzoborus angolensis
cinereous becard	Pachyramphus rufus
band-tailed pigeon	Patagioenas fasciata
pale-bellied hermit	Phaethornis anthophilus
green hermit	Phaethornis guy
stripe-throated hermit	Phaethornis striigularis
olivaceous piculet	Picumnus olivaceus
great kiskadee	Pitangus sulphuratus
slaty-headed tody-flycatcher	Poecilotriccus sylvia
spectacled owl	Pulsatrix perspicillata
blue-and-white swallow	Pygochelidon cyanoleuca
vermilion flycatcher	Pyrocephalus rubinus
flame-rumped tanager	Ramphocelus flammigerus
crimson-backed tanager	Ramphocelus dimidiatus
roadside hawk	Rupornis magnirostris
olive-grey saltator	Saltator olivascens
buff-throated saltator	Saltator maximus
streaked saltator	Saltator striatipectus
black phoebe	Sayornis nigricans
saffron finch	Sicalis flaveola
Lesson's seedeater	Sporophila bouvronides
plumbeous seedeater	Sporophila plumbea
ruddy-breasted seedeater	Sporophila minuta
yellow-bellied seedeater	Sporophila nigricollis
southern rough-winged swallow	Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
chestnut-collared swift	Streptoprocne rutila
white-winged swallow	Tachycineta albiventer
white-shouldered tanager	Tachyphonus luctuosus
blue-necked tanager	Tangara cyanicollis
bay-headed tanager	Tangara gyrola
black-capped tanager	Tangara heinei
scrub tanager	Tangara vitriolina
barred antshrike	Thamnophilus doliatus
blue-grey tanager	Thraupis episcopus
palm tanager	Thraupis palmarum
band-tailed barbthroat	Threnetes ruckeri
sooty grassquit	Tiaris fuliginosus
fasciated tiger heron	Tigrisoma fasciatum
common tody-flycatcher	Todirostrum cinereum
house wren	Troglodytes aedon
black-billed thrush	Turdus ignobilis
pale-breasted thrush	Turdus leucomelas
tropical kingbird	Tyrannus melancholicus
red-eyed vireo	Vireo olivaceus
blue-black grassquit	Volatinia jacarina
plain xenops	Xenops minutus
eared dove	Zenaida auriculata
jet antbird	Cercomacra nigricans
sooty ant tanager	Habia gutturalis
sooty-headed wren	Pheugopedius spadix
brown-winged schiffornis	Schiffornis turdina
northern slaty antshrike	Thamnophilus punctatus

Fish

See also: List of fishes in the Magdalena River

The following species have been registered in the central Lebrija River basin:[14]

Name	Species	Image
guppy	Poecilia reticulata
redhump eartheater	Geophagus steindachneri
wolf fish	Hoplias malabaricus
	Prochilodus magdalenae
	Sturisomatichthys leightoni
Cauca molly	Poecilia caucana
	Astroblepus homodon
	Leporinus muyscorum
	Ancistrus caucanus
	Astynax magdalenae
	Brycon henni
	Chaetostoma fischeri
	Chaetostoma milesi
	Gephyrocharax melanocheir
	Hemibrycon dentatus
	Hypostomus hondae
	Ichthyoelephas longirostris
	Parodon magdalenensis
	Pimelodus blochii
	Pimelodus grosskopfii
	Rhamdia quelen
	Roeboides dayii
	Salminus affinis

Trivia

• In 1898, Princess Theresa of Bavaria made the first reported finding of an egg of the Magdalena River turtle (Podocnemis lewyana) near the Lebrija River[18]

See also

List of rivers of Colombia

Suárez River

Chicamocha River, Sogamoso River

References

1. Google Maps Elevation Finder
2. GIDROT, 2011, p.128
3. GIDROT, 2011, p.118
4. GIDROT, 2011, p.119
5. GIDROT, 2011, p.144
6. CIAT, s.a., p.21
7. CDIM, s.a., p.5
8. GIDROT, 2011, p.44
9. GIDROT, 2011, p.45
10. GIDROT, 2011, p.59
11. (in Spanish) El Río Lebrija pierde sus peces - El Espectador
12. GIDROT, 2011, p.117
13. CDMB, s.a., p.4
14. (in Spanish) Fauna y flora de la cuenca media del Río Lebrija en Rionegro, Santander - Humboldt Institute
15. Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve - ProAves
16. CDMB, s.a., p.9
17. CDMB, s.a., p.10
18. Castaño Mora, 1986, p.666

Bibliography

• Castaño Mora, Olga Victoria (1986), "Contribución al conocimiento de la reproducción de Podocnemis lewyana (Reptilia: Quelonia: Pelmedusidae)" (PDF), Caldasia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, XV: 665–667, retrieved 2017-03-11
• GIDROT (2011), Santander 2030 - Diagnóstico dimensión biofísico ambiental territorial de Santander (PDF), Universidad Industrial de Santander, pp. 1–250, retrieved 2017-03-11
• N., N, Aspectos del medio natural (PDF), CIAT, pp. 1–32, retrieved 2017-03-11
• N., N, Plan de ordenamiento y manejo ambiental subcuenca Lebrija Alto, CDMB, pp. 1–121, retrieved 2017-03-11
• N., N, Sistema hidrográfico municipio de Barrancabermeja (PDF), CDIM, pp. 1–39, retrieved 2017-03-11

Further reading

• McNally, Rand (1993), The New International Atlas, Rand McNally, pp. 1–560, ISBN 978-0-528-83694-7, retrieved 2017-03-11
• IDEAM (2001), Geomorfología y susceptibilidad a la inundación del Valle fluvial del Magdalena - sector Barrancabermeja - Bocas de Cenizas (PDF), IDEAM, pp. 1–58, retrieved 2017-03-11