Paraná River

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.^[3] 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".

Paraná River Parana  (Guarani) Rio Paraná, Río Paraná
Paraná River seen from Zárate, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Map of the Paraná River Basin, showing the Paraná River in highlight
Location
Countries	Argentina Brazil Paraguay
Region	South America
Physical characteristics
Source	Paranaíba River
- location	Rio Paranaíba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- coordinates	19°13′21″S 46°10′28″W[1]
- elevation	1,148 m (3,766 ft)
2nd source	Rio Grande
- location	Bocaina de Minas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- coordinates	22°9′56″S 44°23′38″W
Source confluence	Paranaíba and Rio Grande
- coordinates	20°5′12″S 51°0′2″W
Mouth	Rio de la Plata
- location	Atlantic Ocean, Argentina, Uruguay
- coordinates	34°0′5″S 58°23′37″W[2]
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	4,880 km (3,030 mi)[3]
Basin size	2,582,672 km2 (997,175 sq mi)
Discharge
- location	Paraná Delta, Rio de La Plata
- average	(Period 1971-2010) 19,706 m3/s (695,900 cu ft/s)[4] 17,290 m3/s (611,000 cu ft/s)[3] 667 km3/a (21,100 m3/s)[5]
- minimum	2,450 m3/s (87,000 cu ft/s)
- maximum	65,000 m3/s (2,300,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge
- location	Corrientes (Basin size 1,950,000 km2 (750,000 sq mi)[4]
- average	18,979 m3/s (670,200 cu ft/s)[4]
Discharge
- location	Itaí (Basin size 953,950 km2 (368,320 sq mi)
- average	13,916 m3/s (491,400 cu ft/s)[4]
Discharge
- location	Itaipú (Basin size 826,691 km2 (319,187 sq mi)
- average	11,746 m3/s (414,800 cu ft/s)[4]
Discharge
- location	Porto Primavera (Basin size 574,379 km2 (221,769 sq mi)
- average	7,938 m3/s (280,300 cu ft/s)[4]
Basin features
River system	Río de la Plata
Tributaries
- left	Iguaçu, Piquiri, Ivaí, Paranapanema, Tietê, Rio Grande
- right	Salado, Paraguay, Ivinhema, Pardo, Paranaiba

It starts where the Paranaiba and Grande rivers join in southern Brazil. It joins the Paraguay River and continues south, where it merges with Uruguay River, before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

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

1. "Monitoramento da Qualidade das Águas Superficiais da Bacia do Río Paranaíba: Relatório Annual 2007". Governo do Estado de Minas Gerais, Instituto Mineiro de Gestão das Águas. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF in ZIP) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
2. Río Paraná Guazú at GEOnet Names Server (main distributary)
3. "Río de la Plata". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
4. "Balance hídrico en la Cuenca del Plata". Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
5. "Transboundary River Basin Overview – La Plata" (PDF).