Rio Paraná
Image by Rodrigo_Soldon
O rio Paraná (‘como o mar’ ou ‘parecido com o mar’, do tupi para (mar) e na (se parece com ou como) é um rio sul-americano que nasce entre os estados de São Paulo, Minas Gerais e Mato Grosso do Sul, no Brasil, na confluência de dois importantes rios brasileiros: o Rio Grande e Paranaíba. O Rio Paraná corre aproximadamente no eixo central da Bacia do Paraná, uma ampla bacia sedimentar.
Em seu percurso, banha também o estado do Paraná, adquirindo uma extensão total de 3.998 km, que lhe renderia o posto de o nono rio mais extenso do mundo, caso fosse contado o trecho do rio Paranaíba. O rio Paraná demarca a fronteira entre Brasil e Paraguai numa extensão de 190 km até à foz do rio Iguaçu.
A partir de Foz do Iguaçu, o rio muda para direção oeste e passa a ser o limite natural entre Argentina e Paraguai. Na confluência do rio Paraguai o rio entra inteiramente em terras argentinas e passa a percorrer a direção sul, desaguando no delta do Paraná e, conseqüentemente, no Rio da Prata.
A sua vazão na foz, de 16.000 m³/s, é comparável à de rios como o rio Mississippi (18.000 m³/s) e o rio Ganges(16.000 m³/s).
No trecho brasileiro há a barragem de Jupiá, que está localizada a 21 quilômetros da confluência com o rio Tietê, assim como também a barragem de Ilha Solteira, enquanto na fronteira do Paraguai com o Brasil está a usina-barragem de Itaipu, e na fronteira entre a Argentina e o Paraguai, Yacyretá. As duas hidroelétricas fornecem 99% da eletricidade do Paraguai (90% só de Itaipú), e fazem do país o maior exportador de eletricidade do mundo.
A floresta tropical e subtropical que antes ocupava boa parte da bacia do Paraná encontra-se largamente extinta; a área mais preservada encontra-se na província argentina de Misiones.
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El Paraná es un río de América del Sur que atraviesa la mitad sur del subcontinente y forma parte de la extensa cuenca combinada del Plata.
Esta cuenca recoge las aguas de la mayoría de los ríos del sur del subcontinente, como el Paraná, el Paraguay, el Uruguay, sus afluentes y diversos humedales, como el Pantanal, los Esteros del Ibera y el Bañado la Estrella . Es la segunda cuenca más extensa de Sudamérica, sólo superada por la del río Amazonas.
La unión de los ríos Paraná y Uruguay forman el estuario denominado Río de la Plata, donde el Paraná desemboca en un delta en constante crecimiento, producto de los sedimentos que aportan, principalmente, los ríos Paraguay y Bermejo.
Paraná es el apócope de la expresión "para rehe onáva" que en idioma guaraní significa "pariente del mar" o "agua que se mezcla con el mar".
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The Paraná River (Spanish: Río Paraná, Portuguese: Rio Paraná) is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some 4,880 kilometres (3,030 mi).[2] It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language and means "like the sea" (that is, "as big as the sea"). It merges first with the Paraguay River and then farther downstream with the Uruguay River to form the Río de la Plata and empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
The course is formed at the confluence of the Paranaiba and Grande rivers in southern Brazil. From the confluence the river flows in a generally southwestern direction for about 619 km (385 miles) before encountering the city of Saltos del Guaira, Paraguay. This was once the location of the Sete Quedas waterfall, where the Paraná fell over a series of seven cascades. This natural feature was said to rival the world famous Iguazu Falls to the south. The falls were flooded, however, by the construction of the Itaipu dam, which began operating in 1984.
For approximately the next 200 km (125 miles) the Parana flows southward and forms a natural boundary between Paraguay and Brazil until the confluence with the Iguazu River. Shortly upstream from this confluence, however, the river is dammed by the impressive Itaipu Dam, the second largest hydroelectric power station in the world (after the Three Gorges Dam in the People’s Republic of China), and creating a massive, shallow reservoir behind it.
After merging with the Iguazu, the Paraná then becomes the natural border between Paraguay and Argentina. Overlooking the Paraná River from Encarnación, Paraguay, across the river, is downtown Posadas, Argentina. The river continues its general southward course for about 468 km (291 miles) before making a gradual turn to the west for another 820 km (510 miles), and then encounters the Paraguay River, the largest tributary along the course of the river. Before this confluence the river passes through a second major hydroelectric project, the Yaciretá dam, a joint project between Paraguay and Argentina. The massive reservoir formed by the project has been the source of a number of problems for people living along the river, most notably the poorer merchants and residents in the low lying areas of Encarnación, a major city on the southern border of Paraguay. River levels rose dramatically upon completion of the dam, flooding out large sections of the city’s lower areas.
From the confluence with the Paraguay River, the Paraná again turns to the south for another approximately 820 km (510 miles) through Argentina, making a slow turn back to the east near the city of Rosario for the final stretch of less than 500 km (310 miles) before merging with the Uruguay River to form the Río de la Plata and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. During the part of its course downstream from the city of Diamante, Entre Ríos, it splits into several arms and forms the Paraná Delta, a long flood plain which reaches up to 60 km in width.
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