Paraná River
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This page is about the second-longest river in South America. For the shorter river in Goiás, central Brazil, see Paranã River.
| Paraná River | |
| Rio Paraná, Río Paraná | |
| River | |
 Paraná River seen from Zárate, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
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| Countries |  Argentina,  Brazil,  Paraguay |
|---|---|
| Region | Mesopotamia, Argentina |
| Primary source | Paranaíba River |
| - location | Rio Paranaíba, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| - elevation | 1,148 m (3,766 ft) |
| - length | 1,070 km (665 mi) |
| - coordinates | 19°13′21″S 46°10′28″W / 19.2225°S 46.17444°W [1] |
| Secondary source | Grande River |
| - location | Bocaina de Minas, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| - length | 1,090 km (677 mi) [2] |
| - coordinates | 22°9′56″S 44°23′38″W / 22.16556°S 44.39389°W |
| Source confluence | Paranaíba and Grande |
| - coordinates | 20°5′12″S 51°0′2″W / 20.08667°S 51.00056°W |
| Mouth | Rio de la Plata |
| - location | Atlantic Ocean, Argentina |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| - coordinates | 34°0′5″S 58°23′37″W / 34.00139°S 58.39361°W [3] |
| Length | 4,880 km (3,032 mi) [2] |
| Basin | 2,582,672 km² (997,175 sq mi) |
| Discharge | for mouth |
| - average | 17,290 m³/s (610,600 cu ft/s) [2] |
| - max | 65,000 m³/s (2,295,500 cu ft/s) |
| - min | 2,450 m³/s (86,500 cu ft/s) |
 Map of the Rio de la Plata Basin showing the Paraná River and its major tributaries
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The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America. It goes through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. It is 4,880 kilometres (3,030 mi) long.[2] It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is a shortened form of the phrase "para rehe onáva". It is a Tupi word that means "like the sea".
It starts where the Paranaiba and Grande rivers join in southern Brazil. It ends when it joins the Paraguay River.
The surubí and the sábalo are fished on the river.
There are many dams along the river. The Yacyretá and Itaipu are used for hydroelectric power.
References[change | edit source]
- ↑ "Monitoramento da Qualidade das Águas Superficiais da Bacia do Río Paranaíba: Relatório Annual 2007" (PDF in ZIP). Governo do Estado de Minas Gerais, Instituto Mineiro de Gestão das Águas. 2008. http://aguas.igam.mg.gov.br/aguas/downloads/relatorios/2007/Rel_Paranaiba_07.zip. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Río de la Plata". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/463804/Rio-de-la-Plata. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ↑ Río Paraná Guazú at GEOnet Names Server (main distributary)
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