Poxte is a river and valley of the Maya Mountains in Guatemala. The valley is noted for numerous Maya sites such as Ixtutz and the Petén Caves.Laporte 2005, p.221.Authentic Maya The river is located southwest of the Dolores plateau and northwest of Poptún, in the Guatemalan department of Petén.Valdizón 2003, p.140. The source of the river is on the same plateau, near the villages of Boca del Monte and Santo Domingo.Escobedo 2008, p.568. The river flows westwards through the similarly named hamlet of Poxte, it then disappears amongst the karst topography and resumes its course to the west.Escobedo 2008, p.568. It continues westwards into the San Juan River, a tributary of the Machaquila River.Laporte 2009, p.44. Laporte 1997, p.455. The Machaquila River feeds into the Pasión River,Laporte et al, p.1. which flows into the Usumacinta River and the Gulf of Mexico.Smith 1968, p.82. The upper reaches of the Poxte River shares its drainage with the Mopan River, which flows eastwards into the Caribbean Sea.Escobedo 2008, p.568.
The Poxte River Basin measures long and is wide.Escobedo 2008, p.568. The river valley drainage is broken and confused, and the land has been largely cleared of forest to graze cattle.Laporte 1997, p.455. The Poxte valley includes modern settlements of Las Nuevas Delicias, La Lucha, Santo Domingo and Boca del Monte.Valdizón 2003, p.140. The valley encompasses the Maya archaeological sites of Chaquix, Curucuitz, El Eden 2, Ixcoxol 1, 2 and 3, Ixtutz, La Lucha, Machaca 2, Nocsos, Nuevas Delicias 1,2 and 3, Poxte 1 and 2, San Luis Pueblito and Tesik.Valdizón 2003, p.140. It also includes the cave systems of Balam Na (also known as Sebanal).Valdizón 2003, p.140.
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