Paraná River
| Paraná River 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 | |
| Native name | Parana (Guarani) |
| Location | |
| Countries | |
| Region | South America |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Paranaíba |
| • location | Rio Paranaíba, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| • coordinates | 19°13′21″S 46°10′28″W / 19.22250°S 46.17444°W |
| • 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 / 22.16556°S 44.39389°W |
| Source confluence | Paranaíba and Rio 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, Uruguay |
• coordinates | 34°0′5″S 58°23′37″W / 34.00139°S 58.39361°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 2,546 km (1,582 mi)
(Paraná with Paranaíba 3,740 km, Paraná with Rio Grande 4,001 km) (Río de la Plata–Paraná–Rio Grande 4,880 km) |
| Basin size | 2,630,667 km2 (1,015,706 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Paraná Delta |
| • average | (Period 1971–2010)19,706 m3/s (695,900 cu ft/s) (17,290 m3/s (611,000 cu ft/s)–21,100 m3/s (750,000 cu ft/s)) |
| • minimum | 2,450 m3/s (87,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 65,000 m3/s (2,300,000 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Corrientes |
| • average | (Period 1971–2010)18,979 m3/s (670,200 cu ft/s) (Period: 1904–2022)17,179.11 m3/s (606,675 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Itatí |
| • average | (Period 1971–2010)13,916 m3/s (491,400 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Itaipú |
| • average | (Period 1971–2010)11,746 m3/s (414,800 cu ft/s) (Period: 1981–2022) 10,284 m3/s (363,200 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Porto Primavera |
| • average | (Period 1971–2010)7,938 m3/s (280,300 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Río de la Plata → Atlantic Ocean |
| River system | Río de la Plata |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Gualeguay, Iguaçu, Piquiri, Ivaí, Paranapanema, Tietê, Rio Grande |
| • right | Carcarañá, Salado, Paraguay, Ivinhema, Pardo, Verde, Sucuriú, Paranaiba |
The Paraná River (Portuguese: Rio Paraná [ˈʁi.u paɾaˈna] ⓘ; Spanish: Río Paraná [ˈri.o paɾaˈna] ⓘ; Guarani: Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some 4,880 kilometres (3,030 mi). Among South American rivers, it is second in length only to the Amazon River. It merges 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 first European to go up the Paraná River was the Venetian explorer Sebastian Cabot, in 1526, while working for Spain.
A drought hit the river in 2021, causing a 77-year low.