Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

Polochic River

river, Guatemala
Also known as: Río Polochic

Polochic River, river in eastern Guatemala. Its major headstreams arise in the Chamá and Minas mountain ranges. Flowing eastward for 150 miles (240 km), it forms a delta in Lake Izabal, south of the town of El Estor. The Polochic is navigable as far upstream as Panzós; its principal cargo traffic consists of coffee and lumber. Except for an unsuccessful nickel mining project in the late 1970s, few attempts have been made to develop the river valley. The unpaved highway linking El Estor with Huehuetenango follows the Polochic Valley.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Maren Goldberg.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.