Río Negro (Argentina)
| Negro Curú Leuvú, Río de los Sauces | |
|---|---|
Rio Negro near the mouth, seen from its northern bank, between the cities of Viedma, Río Negro and Carmen de Patagones, Buenos Aires | |
Map of the Río Negro drainage basin | |
| Location | |
| Country | Argentina |
| Provinces | |
| Region | Patagonia |
| Cities | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Limay River |
| • location | Nahuel Huapi Lake, Neuquén |
| • coordinates | 41°03′20″S 71°09′07″W / 41.05556°S 71.15194°W |
| • elevation | 770 m (2,530 ft) |
| 2nd source | Neuquén River |
| • location | Near Laguna Fea, Neuquén |
| • coordinates | 36°10′53″S 70°34′16″W / 36.18139°S 70.57111°W |
| • elevation | 2,800 m (9,200 ft) |
| Source confluence | |
| • location | Neuquén, Río Negro |
| • coordinates | 38°59′40″S 68°00′07″W / 38.99444°S 68.00194°W |
| • elevation | 250 m (820 ft) |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
• location | El Cóndor, Río Negro |
• coordinates | 41°01′50″S 62°47′23″W / 41.03056°S 62.78972°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 550 km (340 mi) |
| Basin size | 102,000 km2 (39,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Primera Angostura |
| • average | 762.5 m3/s (26,930 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 181 m3/s (6,400 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 2,068 m3/s (73,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Neuquén River |
| • right | Limay River |
Río Negro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ˈneɣɾo]; Black River) is the main river of Patagonia in terms of the size of its drainage basin, its associated agricultural produce and population living at its shores. In eastern Patagonia it is also the largest by flow rate. The river flows through the Argentine province of Río Negro which is named after it. Its name comes from the literal translation of the Mapuche term Curu Leuvu, although the water is more green than black. Formerly, it was also known as "river of the willows" because of the big number of weeping willows that grow along the bank. It is 635 km in length.
It originates from the junction of the Limay River and Neuquén River at the border with the Neuquén Province, and flows southeast incised through steppes to the Atlantic Ocean at 41°01′20″S 62°47′25″W / 41.0223°S 62.7903°W, near El Cóndor beach resort some 30 km (19 mi) downstream from Viedma, Río Negro province's capital.
The river allows the Río Negro province to produce 70% of the pears and 72% of the apples of Argentina. The main area of orchards lie in the middle and upper course of the river. About 48% of the Southern Hemisphere's pears are produced in Río Negro. Besides irrigation, the river is also source of hydroelectricity with small dams on its course. The river's lower 400 km are navigable.
In 1604 the inland area of the river was reached by Spanish explorers departing from Buenos Aires in search of the mythical City of the Caesars. The river served briefly as a natural demarcation between "civilization" and the indigenous territories in the late 1870s and early 1880s during the Conquest of the Desert. In the 1900s Welsh settlers from Chubut were granted land in Choele Choel.