Río de la Plata
| Río de la Plata River Plate, La Plata River | |
|---|---|
NASA photo of the Río de la Plata looking from northwest to southeast. Buenos Aires is visible on the right side near the Paraná River delta. River sediments turn its water brown as far as Montevideo, visible on the left coast. | |
Map of the Río de la Plata basin, showing the Río de la Plata at the mouths of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, near Buenos Aires | |
| Etymology | Spanish for "river of silver" |
| Location | |
| Countries | Argentina & Uruguay |
| Cities | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of Paraná and Uruguay rivers |
| • location | Argentina/Uruguay |
| • coordinates | 34°0′5″S 58°23′37″W / 34.00139°S 58.39361°W |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
• location | Argentine Sea, Argentina |
• coordinates | 35°40′S 55°47′W / 35.667°S 55.783°W |
| Length | 290 km (180 mi) 4,876 km (3,030 mi) including the Paraná |
| Basin size | 3,170,000 km2 (1,220,000 sq mi) 3,182,064 km2 (1,228,602 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Río de la Plata, Atlantic Ocean |
| • average | (Period 1971-2010)
27,225 m3/s (961,400 cu ft/s) 22,000 m3/s (780,000 cu ft/s) 884 km3/a (28,000 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 12,000 m3/s (420,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 50,000 m3/s (1,800,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Uruguay River, San Juan River, Santa Lucía River |
| • right | Paraná River, Luján River, Salado River |
The Río de la Plata (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ðe la ˈplata] ⓘ; lit. 'River of Silver'), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and forms a funnel-shaped indentation on the southeastern coastline of South America. Depending on the geographer, the Río de la Plata may be considered a river, an estuary, a gulf, or a marginal sea. If considered a river, it is the widest in the world, with a maximum width of 220 kilometres (140 mi).
The river is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and widens from about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) at its source to about 220 kilometres (140 mi) at its mouth. It forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay. The name Río de la Plata is also used to refer to the populations along the estuary, especially the main port cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, where Rioplatense Spanish is spoken and tango culture developed. The coasts of the river are the most densely populated areas of Uruguay and Argentina.