The municipality of Rionegro is located in the central mountain range of the
Andes in eastern Antioquia. With a total area of 196 km2, is part of the sub-region of
Eastern Antioquia. The city is surrounded in the north by the municipalities of
Guarne and
San Vicente, in the east by the municipalities of
Marinilla and
El Carmen de Viboral, in the south by the municipality of
La Ceja, and in the west by the municipalities of
El Retiro and
Medellín. The city of Rionegro is located at , at an average elevation of above sea level. The average annual
precipitation varies between with an average temperature of . Much of the land consists of volcanic ashes and soils with a high resistance to erosion. The altitude of the rest of the territory varies between , and the topography is characterised by a number of small hills, some of which may rise to a greater height and slope like Cerro del Capiro, located in limits with the municipality of La Ceja. A sharper mountainous system emerges towards the West of the municipality, which becomes a physical barrier between the Valley of the Aburrá and the Plateau of Rionegro, from where the main affluents of the
Negro River are born. The main hills of the mountainous chain that surround the Valley by Rionegro are: Alto Gordo, Alto de Amariles, Alto de Salazar o La Pilastra, Cerro Verde, Alto de Careperro, Alto de Pantanillo, Cerro Corcovado and Cerro del Capiro. Part of the city is an
alluvial plain of the Negro River and its tributaries, which also include the
Pantanillo River and the gorges such as Las Palmas and Espíritu Santo y Fizebad. Historically the Negro River divided the valley in two, with the Valley of Llanogrande and the Valley of San Nicholas.
Hydroelectric companies operate in the area, and have constructed a Hydroelectric Power station at Guatapé with the
Santa Rita Dam. Today the hydroelectric complex of Eastern Antioquia consists of five power stations, two of which are public companies of
Medellín city. == Demographics ==