A barranca is a deep gorge or canyon. A word of Spanish American origin, the term ‘barranca’ stems from the Spanish word for “cliff, precipice, gully, ravine.”
Where to Find Barrancas?
One place to find barrancas is at the lower elevations of La Malinche volcano in central Mexico. Found among the farmlands and villages of the area are narrow stream valleys that form the barrancas.
The barrancas are dry most of the year. It’s during those dry times that area residents use the barrancas as pathways for foot and vehicle traffic, playing soccer, and dredging for materials for creating concrete blocks for building.
Satellite Image of Barrancas
This Landsat 8 satellite image shows the northwestern side of La Malinche volcano where several barrancas can be seen.
1847 Map With a Barranca
This 1847 map showing the Mexican plan of the Battle of Cerro-Gordo during the U.S.-Mexican War, 1846-1848 highlights a barranca.
The map depicts Mexican and American troop positions at various stages of the battle, gun emplacements, roads, relief and encampments, and the retreat route of Santa Ana’s forces.
The barranca is mapped on the left side of the map connecting the road to the river.
![Croquis del terro, camino, bosques, barrancas, cerro y beredas de Cerro-gordo con las posiciones de las topas Mejicanas y Americanas con sus respectivos Generales Cuerpos y Baterias el dis 18 de Abril de 1847. Delineado por Rafael Zamora y ejecutado por Vicinte Quiroga. Zamora, Rafael. [1847]. Manuscript, pen-and-ink and watercolor.](https://www.geographyrealm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1847-map-battle-Cerro-gordo-loc.jpg)
References
Dauphin, L. (2020, August 29). La Malinche’s barrancas. NASA Earth Observatory. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147194/la-malinches-barrancas
LaFevor, M. C. (2014). Conservation engineering and agricultural terracing in Tlaxcala, Mexico (Doctoral dissertation). http://hdl.handle.net/2152/24815
