Atoyac River (Oaxaca) in the context of Oaxaca de Juárez

Oaxaca de Juárez (Spanish pronunciation: [waˈxaka ðe ˈxwaɾes]), or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec: Ndua), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Oaxaca, the most populous municipality in Oaxaca, and the fourth most densely populated municipality in Oaxaca, only being less densely populated than San Jacinto Amilpas, Santa Lucía del Camino, and Santa Cruz Amilpas. It is in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín, extending to the banks of the Atoyac River.

Heritage tourism is an important part of the city's economy, and it includes numerous colonial-era structures, significant archeological sites, and elements of the continuing native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures. The city, together with the nearby archeological site of Monte Albán, was designated in 1987 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the site of the month-long cultural festival called the "Guelaguetza", which features Oaxacan dance from the seven regions, music, and a beauty pageant for indigenous women.

The Río Verde is a river in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico. It is formed by the confluence of the Atoyaquillo and Colorado Rivers near the village of Santiago Ixtayutla and flows south to its mouth at El Azufre on the Pacific Ocean, on the western border of Lagunas de Chacahua National Park. Its major tributary is the Atoyac, which drains the Oaxaca Valley and flows into the Río Verde at Paso de la Reina, where a proposal to build a large hydroelectric dam project has been opposed by local communities. The combined length of the Atoyac and lower Verde rivers is 342 kilometres (213 mi) and the river system as a whole drains a watershed of 18,812 square kilometres (7,263 sq mi), which has a mean natural surface runoff of 6,046 hm (2.135×10 cu ft) per year. The watershed covers almost a fifth of Oaxaca state and is home to over a third of its population, and faces serious degradation issues as a result of pollution and overexploitation.

Well-studied Mesoamerican civilizations flourished in the valleys of Oaxaca, Ejutla and Nochixtlán, all of which lie in the Verde–Atoyac basin. The floodplains of the lower Río Verde valley also began to support large populations and complex society in the Late Formative period (400–100 BC). The site of Río Viejo emerged as a regional centre during the Miniyua phase (150 BC–100 AD), developing massive public architecture by the Late Classic period (550–800 AD). In the Postclassic period development shifted away from the floodplains to the city-state of Tututepec, located in the foothills about 16 km east of Río Viejo.

The Mixteco River is a river of Mexico.

The mountainous terrain of Oaxaca allows for no navigable rivers; instead, there are a large number of smaller ones, which often change name from area to area. The continental divide passes through the state, meaning that there is drainage towards both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Most of the drainage towards the Gulf is represented by the Papaloapan and Coatzacoalcos Rivers and their tributaries such as the Grande and Salado Rivers. Three rivers account for most of the water headed for the Pacific: the Atoyac River, Tehuantepec River, and the Mixteco River, with their tributaries.

The Tehuantepec River is a river in Oaxaca, Mexico. The Tehuantepec flows into the Gulf of Tehuantepec on the Pacific Ocean coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The mountainous terrain of the region it occupies allows for no navigable rivers; instead, there are a large number of smaller ones, which often change name from area to area. The continental divide passes through the state, meaning there is drainage toward both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific. Most of the drainage toward the Gulf is represented by the Papaloapan and Coatzacoalcos rivers and their tributaries such as the Grande and Salado Rivers. Three rivers account for most of the water headed for the Pacific: the Atoyac River, Mixteco River, and the Tehuantepec River, with their tributaries.