Ahuehuete de Rio Magdalena (Callejon del Rio)
The river this tree is named after is not there any more. Callejon del Rio in Coyoacan follows the old course of the Rio Magdalena, one of the last rivers in Mexico City to run in the open, and the ahuehuete now stands on the median strip left behind, 5.65 metres around and 26 metres tall. Ahuehuetes are water trees. This one is left holding the line of a watercourse that has been culverted underneath it, which is as good a summary of what happened to this city's hydrology as any plaque could manage. It was declared an Arbol Patrimonial in 2025 in a pair with the ahuehuete at San Diego Churubusco. One caution about the name: the press called it the Rio Magdalena ahuehuete, the city's register lists it by its street address on Callejon del Rio in Barrio Santa Catarina, and no single document states outright that the two refer to the same trunk, though the address puts it on that river's line. No age has been recorded. This is one of the two trees on this page that make a real walk: the fresno on Avenida Francisco Sosa is about 700 metres away through the same barrio, with Coyoacan's historic centre and the Viveros a short distance further on.
Callejon del Rio S/N, on the camellon (median) behind the Casa Hogar CAHOVA DIF Nacional, Colonia Santa Catarina, Coyoacan, CP 04010You can recognise it by its lone trunk, 5.65 metres round, standing on the median strip of Callejon del Rio. It marks the old course of the Rio Magdalena in Coyoacan, about 700 metres from the Francisco Sosa ash.
Free, standing on a public median (camellon) along the historic Callejon del Rio, following the course of the Rio Magdalena; open at all times.
In the Barrio de Santa Catarina, Coyoacan, an easy walk (roughly 700-900 m) from the Jardin Centenario / Coyoacan historic centre; nearest Metrobus is Av. Miguel Angel de Quevedo, about 1 km away.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
- In the official register: Árboles Patrimoniales (SEDEMA Ciudad de México), no. 9
- proyectos.sedema.cdmx.gob.mx
- eluniversal.com.mx
