Carchi River

{{Infobox river

| name = Carchi River

| image = File:Nevado Chiles 465.JPG

| image_size =

| image_caption = The Carchi River rises on the slopes of Chiles Volcano.

| source1_location =

| mouth_location =

| subdivision_type1 = Countries

| subdivision_name1 = {{hlist|Ecuador|Colombia}}

| length =

| source1_elevation = {{cvt|4698|m|feet}}

| mouth_elevation =

| discharge1_avg =

| basin_size =

}}

{{coord|0.8153|-77.6649|display=title}}

The Carchi River is a river of Ecuador. It rises on the slopes of Chiles Volcano, elevation {{convert|4698|m|ft}}, on the border of Ecuador and Colombia. The river flows eastward across the high plateau of El Angel."Rio Carchi", http://www.enciclopediadelecuador.com/geografia-del-ecuador/rio-carchi/, accessed 18 Jun 2017 The Carchi has a total course of about {{convert|45|km|mi}}, forming the border between Colombia and Ecuador for about {{convert|20|km|mi}}. It passes between the cities of Tulcan, Ecuador and Ipiales, Colombia and beneath the Rumichaca Bridge, the principal terrestrial link between Colombia and Ecuador.Google Earth Entering Colombia, the Carchi becomes known as the Guáitara River which is a tributary of the Patía River.

The Pasto people lived along the Carchi River in pre-Columbian times. At the northernmost point of the Inca Empire the Pasto were never fully conquered by the Incas.Meisch, Lynn. A. (2012), Costume and History in Highland Ecuador, Austin: University of Texas Press, p. 74 The Carchi was known as the Angasmayo River by the Incas and the early Spanish colonists. A natural stone bridge at Rumichaca was the northernmost outpost of the Inca Empire.Almeida Reyes, Dr. Eduardo (2015), "El Camino del Inca en las Sierra Norte del Ecuador y su Valoracion Turistica", Revista de Invetigacion Cientifica, No, 7, pp. 75-87