Place · river

Motagua River

The Motagua is the longest river of Guatemala, flowing about 486 kilometres from the western highlands to the Gulf of Honduras on the Caribbean. Its middle valley held the main sources of jadeite in Mesoamerica, and the Classic Maya city of Quiriguá rose on its lower course, controlling trade in jade and obsidian. Its lower reaches now form part of the border between Guatemala and Honduras.

Motagua River
Image: Kymacpherson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Quiriguá

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Motagua River. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/motagua-river
MLA
“Motagua River.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/motagua-river. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Motagua River.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/motagua-river.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Motagua River’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/motagua-river (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻