The Calderón River is a tributary of the Lerma Santiago River that flows westward from the Altos region of Jalisco to its junction with the Lerma Santiago River in Tonalá.
The River contains a number of dams, including the Elías González Chávez Dam built in 1991 located in the municipality of Acatic and La Red Dam built in 1967 in the municipality of Tepatitlán de Morelos.
The Battle of Calderón Bridge (Spanish: Batalla del Puente de Calderón) was a decisive battle in the Mexican War of Independence. It was fought in January 1811 on the banks of the Calderón River 60 km (37 mi) east of Guadalajara in present-day Zapotlanejo, Jalisco.
Almost 100,000 Mexican revolutionaries contributed to the attack, commanded by Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama and Mariano Abasolo. The Royalist forces of New Spain, made up of between 5,000 and 8,000 professional soldiers fighting for the King of Spain, were led by Félix María Calleja del Rey, a Spanish military officer and (later) viceroy of New Spain. He was also later given the title of conde de Calderón for the Spanish victory.