Paraguay River: Difference between revisions
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{{Geobox|River |
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<!-- *** Heading *** --> |
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| name = Paraguay River |
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| native_name = |
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| other_name = Rio Paraguai |
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| other_name1 = Río Paraguay |
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| category = |
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<!-- *** Image *** --> |
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| image = Rio Paraguay.jpg |
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| image_size = 300 |
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| image_caption = View of Paraguay River near [[Asunción]] |
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<!-- *** Name *** --> |
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| etymology = |
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| nickname = |
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<!-- *** Country etc. *** --> |
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| country = Paraguay |
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| country1 = Brazil |
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| country2 = Argentina |
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| country3 = Bolivia |
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| state = |
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| region = |
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| district = |
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| municipality = |
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<!-- *** Family *** --> |
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| parent = |
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| tributary_left = [[Negro River (Mato Grosso do Sul)|Negro River]] |
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| tributary_left1 = [[Miranda River (Brazil)|Miranda River]] |
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| tributary_left2 = [[Apa River]] |
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| tributary_right = [[Jauru River (Mato Grosso)|Jauru River]] |
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| tributary_right1 = [[Pilcomayo River]] |
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| tributary_right2 = [[Bermejo River]] |
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| city = |
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| landmark = |
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<!-- *** Locations *** --> |
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| source = |
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| source_location = |
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| source_region = Mato Grosso |
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| source_country = Brazil |
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| source_elevation = |
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| source_length = |
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| source_length_unit = km |
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| source_lat_d = |
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| source_lat_m = |
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| source_lat_s = |
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| source_lat_NS = S |
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| source_long_d = |
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| source_long_m = |
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| source_long_s = |
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| source_long_EW = W |
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| source1 = |
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| source1_location = |
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| source1_region = Mato Grosso |
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| source1_country = Brazil |
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| source1_elevation = |
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| source1_length = |
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| source1_length_unit = km |
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| source1_lat_d = |
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| source1_lat_m = |
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| source1_lat_s = |
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| source1_lat_NS = S |
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| source1_long_d = |
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| source1_long_m = |
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| source1_long_s = |
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| source1_long_EW = W |
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| mouth = Paraná River |
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| mouth_location = |
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| mouth_country = Argentina, Paraguay |
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| mouth_elevation = 50 |
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| mouth_lat_d = 27 |
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| mouth_lat_m = 18 |
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| mouth_lat_s = |
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| mouth_lat_NS = S |
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| mouth_long_d = 58 |
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| mouth_long_m = 38 |
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| mouth_long_s = |
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| mouth_long_EW = W |
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| mouth_coordinates_note = <ref>{{GEOnet2|32FA87C5298F3774E0440003BA962ED3|Río Paraguay}}</ref> |
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<!-- *** Dimensions *** --> |
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| length = 2621 |
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| length_note = <ref name=varis/> |
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| width = |
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| depth = |
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| watershed = 365592 |
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| watershed_note = <ref name=varis/> |
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| discharge = 2700 |
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| discharge_round =-3 |
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| discharge_location = |
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| discharge_note = <ref name=varis/> |
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<!-- *** Free frields *** --> |
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| free = |
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<!-- *** Maps *** --> |
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| map = Riodelaplatabasinmap.png |
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| map_size = 300 |
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| map_caption = Map of the [[Rio de la Plata Basin]], showing the Paraguay River joining the [[Paraná River]] near [[Resistencia, Chaco|Resistencia]] and [[Corrientes]], south of [[Asunción]]. |
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| map_locator = |
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<!-- *** Websites *** --> |
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| commons = |
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| statistics = |
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| website = |
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<!-- *** Footnotes *** --> |
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| footnotes = |
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}} |
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The '''Paraguay River''' ('''Río Paraguay''' in Spanish, '''Rio Paraguai''' in Portuguese, '''Ysyry Paraguái''' in [[Guarani language|Guarani]]) is a major river in south central South America, running through Brazil, [[Bolivia]], [[Paraguay]], and [[Argentina]]. It flows about {{convert|2621|km|mi}}<ref name=varis>{{cite book |last= Varis |first= Olli |last2= Tortajada |first2= Cecilia |last3= Biswas |first3= Asit K. |title= Management of Transboundary Rivers and Lakes |year= 2008 |publisher= Springer |isbn= 978-3-540-74926-4 |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=Z3ilzosWx4wC&pg=PA271 |page= 271}}</ref> from its headwaters in the [[States of Brazil|Brazilian state]] of [[Mato Grosso]] to its confluence with the [[Paraná River]] north of [[Corrientes]]. |
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==Course== |
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Some {{convert|400|km|mi}} after flowing through the middle of Paraguay, at the confluence with the [[Pilcomayo River]] and passing the Paraguayan capital city, [[Asunción]], the river forms the border with Argentina, flowing generally south-southwesterly for another {{convert|275|km|mi}} before it reaches its end, joining with the Paraná River. |
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==Uses== |
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[[Image:Port of asuncion.jpg|thumb|250px|Deep water port on the River Paraguay in Asunción, Paraguay]] |
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The Paraguay River is the second major river of the [[Rio de la Plata Basin]], after the Paraná River. The Paraguay's [[drainage basin]], about {{convert|365592|km2|sqmi}},<ref name=varis/> covers a vast area that includes major portions of northern Argentina, southern Brazil, parts of Bolivia, and the entire country of Paraguay. Unlike many of the other great rivers of the Rio de la Plata Basin, the Paraguay has not been dammed for [[hydroelectric]] power generation, and as such it is navigable for a considerable distance, second to the [[Amazon River]] only in terms of navigable length on the continent. This makes it an important shipping and trade corridor, providing a much needed link to the Atlantic Ocean for the otherwise [[landlocked]] nations of Paraguay and Bolivia. It serves such important cities as Asunción and [[Concepción, Paraguay|Concepción]] in Paraguay and [[Formosa, Argentina|Formosa]] in Argentina. |
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The river is also a source of commerce in the form of fishing and providing irrigation for agriculture along its route. It also serves as a way of life for a number of poor fishermen who live along its banks and make the majority of their income selling fish in local markets, as well as supplying a major source of sustenance for their families. This has created issues in large cities such as Asunción, where poverty stricken farmers from the country's interior have populated the river's banks in search of an easier lifestyle. Seasonal flooding of the river's banks forces many thousands of displaced residents to seek temporary shelter until the waters recede from their homes. The Paraguayan military has been forced to dedicate land on one of its reserves in the capital to emergency housing for these displaced citizens. The river is a tourist attraction for its beauty. |
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==Wetland controversy== |
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The Paraguay River is the primary waterway of the {{convert|147629|km2|sqmi|adj=on}} [[Pantanal]] [[wetland]]s of southern Brazil, northern Paraguay and parts of Bolivia. The Pantanal is the world's largest tropical wetland and is largely dependent upon waters provided by the Paraguay River. |
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Owing to its importance as a navigable waterway serving Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, the river has been the focus of commercial and industrial development. In 1997 the governments of the nations of the La Plata Basin proposed a bold plan under the Hidrovia Inter Governmental Commission (CIH) agency to develop the rivers into an industrial waterway system to help reduce the costs of exporting goods from the area, in particular the [[soybean]] crop that the area has embraced. The plan proposed constructing more hydroelectric dams along some of the waterways, along with a massive effort to restructure the navigable waterways—most notably the Paraguay River—through dredging of the waterway, rock removal, and channel restructuring. |
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Studies indicated that the proposed [[river engineering]] of the Paraguay would have lowered the river levels by several feet and have a devastating impact on the Pantanal wetlands, but the member nations of the CIH were determined to go ahead with the plan. An effort by the Rios Vivos coalition to educate people on the effects of the project was successful in delaying the project, and the nations involved have agreed to reformulate their plan. The final plan is still uncertain, however, along with the final effect it will have on the Pantanal and the [[ecology]] of the entire [[Río de la Plata]] basin is currently undetermined. The controversy as to whether or not the project will have a disastrous effect on the ecology, as well as the potential economic gains, continues to this day. |
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The project is considered to have extremely positive effects for Paraguay, Bolivia, western Brazil, and the north of Argentina, which presently rely on expensive overland transport. With this improved waterway system in place, the lower costs of transportation would make the regional industry more competitive in world markets, spur economic growth in the region, and create additional employment throughout the area. Paraguay's capital city, Asunción, would become a major inland port benefiting exporters of cattle, cotton, and in particular, the extensive soybean crop. Argentina's cereal producers near the Rosario port on the Paraná River would benefit from the lower transportation cost as well. Also, this project could trigger an economic boost to Brazil's mining companies and farmers since the central plains are rich in iron, manganese, and precious stones and soybeans, coffee, wheat, rice, and hardwoods flourish. Uruguay's aim is to develop Nueva Palmira at the southern end of the Hydrovia and establish it as the main port of the Southern Cone. |
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==Fauna== |
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The Paraguay River [[ecoregion]] has a high [[species richness]] with about 350 fish species, including more than 80 [[Endemism|endemics]].<ref name=FEW>Hales, J., and P. Petry (2013). ''[http://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/343 Paraguay]''. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. Retrieved 28 February 2013</ref> About 80% of the fish species in the river are [[Characiformes|characiforms]] (tetras and allies) and [[catfish|siluriforms]] (catfish).<ref name=FEW/> Several of these migrate up the Paraguay River to spawn, including ''[[Prochilodus lineatus]]'' and ''[[Pseudoplatystoma corruscans]]''.<ref name=FEW/> Unsurprisingly many species in the river are essentially of Paraná River Basin origin, but the fauna also has a connection with two [[Amazon Basin|Amazonian]] rivers, the [[Guaporé River|Guaporé]] and [[Mamoré River|Mamoré]]. While flowing in different directions, the Paraguay, Guaporé and Mamoré all have their source in the same region in central South America. Among the species shared between these are the [[black tetra]] (in Paraguay and Guaporé), an important fish in the aquarium industry,<ref>{{FishBase|genus=Gymnocorymbus|species=ternetzi|year=2013|month=February}}</ref> and the [[golden dorado]] (in Paraguay and Mamoré), which is important in the fishing industry.<ref>{{FishBase|genus=Salminus|species=brasiliensis|year=2013|month=February}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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* [[Tributaries of the Río de la Plata]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==Additional references== |
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*[http://www.american.edu/TED/itaipu.htm American University Trade and Environment data base (2004). Itaipu Dam.] |
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*American University Trade and Environment data base. (1999). Hydrovia Canal Plan and Environment . |
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Available online at http://www.american.edu/TED/hidrovia.htm. |
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*Bascheck, B. and Hegglin, M. (2004). Plata/Paraná River Basin, A Case Study . Swiss Federal Insititute for Environmental Science and Technology. |
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*Da Rosa, J. E. (1983). Economics, politics, and hydroelectric power: the Paraná River Basin . Latin American Research Review, VXVIII (3), pp. 77–107. |
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*Elhance, A. P. (1999). Hydropolitics in the 3rd World, Conflict and Cooperation in International River Basins. Washington, D.C. : United States Institute of Peace. |
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*Gleick, P.H., ed. Water in Crisis. A Guide to the World's Fresh Water Resources, New York : Oxford University Press, pp. 13–24. |
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*Kulshreshtha, S.N. (1993). World Water Resources and Regional Vulnerability: Impact of Future Changes. RR-93-10, IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria . |
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*Lammers, O., Moore, D. and Preakle, K. (1994). Considering the Hidrovia: a preliminary report on the status of the proposed Paraguay/Parana waterway project. Working Paper 3 . Berkeley, California : International Rivers Network, July. |
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*Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD) (2007). Oregon State University. |
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Available on-line at: http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/ |
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*United Nations. (1978). Register of international rivers, Water Supply Management, 2 (1). New York: Pergamon Press. |
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== External links == |
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{{commons|Río Paraguay}} |
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*[http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/research/case_studies/La_Plata_New.htm "Case Study of Transboundary Dispute Resolution: the La Plata basin," Aaron T. Wolf and Joshua T. Newton] |
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*''Drainage Plan Will Devastate S. American Rivers, Groups Say'' [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/07/0731_030731_tvhidrovia.html National Geographic News article, July 31, 2003] |
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[[Category:Rivers of Argentina|Paraguay]] |
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[[Category:Rivers of Brazil|Paraguay]] |
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[[Category:Rivers of Paraguay|Paraguay]] |
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[[Category:Rivers of Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia)|Paraguay]] |
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[[Category:Geography of Formosa Province]] |
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[[Category:Brazil–Paraguay border]] |
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[[Category:Argentina–Paraguay border]] |
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[[Category:International rivers of South America]] |
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[[Category:La Plata basin]] |
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[[Category:Tributaries of the Paraná River]] |
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[[Category:Border rivers]] |
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[[Category:World Digital Library related]] |
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