Pacific Coast: Buenaventura Bay - Guapi
The coast from Buenaventura Bay to Guapi Bay extends for about 150 km, with a general S40ºW trend (Fig. 25). The southern Buenaventura Bay shore (Fig. 26) is supplied by the Anchicayá and Dagua Rivers and is a low depositional area characterized by segmented sand bars and extensive, intertidal mud flats and mangrove swamps (Fig. 27) that penetrate more than 10 km inland from the coast.
Farther south, the littoral fringe represents a system of barrier islands (Fig. 28), mangrove and transitional swamps (Fig. 29), and is supplied by numerous rivers. The largest are the Cajambre, Naya, and Micay Rivers that drain the western slopes of the Cordillera Occidental. A dense network of tidal channels interconnects the estuarine lagoons and mangrove interdistributary areas, and the freshwater swamps are backed by cliffs or gently sloping platforms cut into Tertiary sedimentary rocks. Modern barrier islands of this stretch are 2.8 to 5.6 km long and 0.2 to 1.1 km wide and are mostly transgressive features (Martínez et al. 1995, Correa 1996).
Figure 25. Geomorphic classification of the Buenaventura - Guapi Bays littoral zone Modified from Correa (1996). |
Figure 26. Organic-rich tidal flat on the southern side of Buenaventura Bay. Photo by I. Correa. |
Figure 27. Small village bordering a mangrove swamp south of Buenaventura Bay. Photo by I. Correa. |
Figure 28. Typical washover sand backbeach of the barrier islands between Buenaventura Bay and Guapi Bay. Photo by I. Correa. |
Figure 29. Mangrove swamp (Rizophora mangle) along the northern border of the Guaji estuary. Mangrove trees are as much as 30 m high. Photo by I. Correa. |
continue to Patía River Delta
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