Lempa River
The Lempa River is a river in Central America. It is a transboundary river shared by El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Geography
Its sources are located in between the Sierra Madre and the Sierra del Merendón mountain ranges in southern Guatemala, near the town of Olopa. In Guatemala, the river is called Olopa River and flows southwards for before entering Honduras and changing its name to Lempa River at. In Honduras, it flows through the Ocotepeque Department for, and crosses the border with El Salvador at the town of Citalá in the Chalatenango Department. The river continues its course for another in El Salvador, flowing in a generally southwards direction until it reaches the Pacific Ocean in the San Vicente Department. The river forms a small part of the international boundary between El Salvador and Honduras.The river's watershed covers of which, that is, 56.56% of the watershed territory, lie in El Salvador; in Honduras; and in Guatemala. 49% of El Salvador's territory is covered by the Lempa River basin, and 77.5% of the Salvadoran population lives in cities, towns, and villages located within the basin territory, including the capital city of San Salvador.
Hydroelectricity
[Image:Rio_Lempa_Presa_Enero_2011.jpg|150px|left|thumb|15 de Septiembre Hydroelectric dam over the Rio Lempa, El Salvador]There are several hydroelectric dams along the river. In El Salvador, there is the Guayojo Dam, the Cerrón Grande Hydroelectric Dam, the 5 de Noviembre Dam, and the 15 de Septiembre Dam. The latter can be easily seen from the Pan-American highway.