PANUCO RIVER

Spanish Ro Pnuco, river in Veracruz estado (state), east-central Mexico. Formed by the junction of the Moctezuma and Tamun rivers on the San Luis PotosVeracruz state line, the Pnuco meanders generally east-northeastward past the town of Pnuco to the Gulf of Mexico about 6 miles (10 km) below Tampico. Just upstream from Tampico and Ciudad Madero, the Pnuco is joined by the Tames, which forms the VeracruzTamaulipas border. Principal headstreams of the Pnuco include the Santa Mara, which arises in the inland plateau near San Luis Potos and becomes the Tamun as it descends from the Sierra Madre Oriental, and the Moctezuma, which flows through the mountains from southern Quertaro state. The river system (316 miles long including the Santa Mara) has considerable economic importance. It has served to drain Texcoco (q.v.) and other interior lakes via a system of tunnels and channels; its waters are used to irrigate the fertile La Huasteca lowlands, and its lower course is navigable (ocean vessels can be accommodated at Tampico).