Uruguay River
Sunset in the Uruguay River, from Misiones , Argentina
Map of the Uruguay River
Native name	Rio Uruguay   ( Spanish ) Rio Uruguai   ( Portuguese )
Location
Countries	Argentina Brazil Uruguay
Physical characteristics
Source	Pelotas River
• location	Serra Geral , Brazil
• elevation	1,800 m (5,900 ft)
2nd source	Canoas River
• location	Serra Geral , Brazil
Mouth	Rio de la Plata
• location	Argentina , Uruguay
• coordinates	34°12′S 58°18′W  /  34.200°S 58.300°W  / -34.200; -58.300 [1]
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	1,838 km (1,142 mi) [2]
Basin size	353,451 km 2 (136,468 sq mi) [3] 365,000 km 2 (141,000 sq mi) [4]
Discharge
• location	Rio de La Plata (near mouth)
• average	(Period 1971?2010)7,058 m 3 /s (249,300 cu ft/s) [5] (Period: 1971?2000)7,558.3 m 3 /s (266,920 cu ft/s) [6] 5,500 m 3 /s (190,000 cu ft/s) [4] 217 km 3 /a (6,900 m 3 /s) [7] 7,220 m 3 /s (228 km 3 /a) [8]
Discharge
• location	Concordia , Salto Grande (Basin size 243,404 km 2 (93,979 sq mi)
• average	(Period 1971?2010)5,725 m 3 /s (202,200 cu ft/s) [5] 4,622 m 3 /s (163,200 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Paso de los Libres (Basin size 191,242 km 2 (73,839 sq mi)
• average	(Period 1971?2010)4,789 m 3 /s (169,100 cu ft/s) [5]
Discharge
• location	El Soberbio (Basin size 83,949 km 2 (32,413 sq mi)
• average	(Period 1971?2010)2,384 m 3 /s (84,200 cu ft/s) [5]
Basin features
Progression	Rio de la Plata → Atlantic Ocean
River system	Rio de la Plata
Tributaries
• left	Rio Negro , Ibicui , Pelotas
• right	Gualeguaychu , Canoas

The Uruguay River ( Spanish : Rio Uruguay [?ri.o w?u??waj] ; Portuguese : Rio Uruguai [??i.u u?u??waj] ) is a major river in South America . It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil , Argentina and Uruguay , separating some of the Argentine provinces of La Mesopotamia from the other two countries. It passes between the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil; forms the eastern border of the provinces of Misiones , Corrientes and Entre Rios in Argentina; and makes up the western borders of the departments of Artigas , Salto , Paysandu , Rio Negro , Soriano and Colonia in Uruguay.

Etymology [ edit ]

The name of the river tends to comes from the Spanish settlers' interpretation of the Guarani language word the inhabitants of the region used to designate it. There are several interpretations, including "the river of the uru (an indigenous bird)", and "[river of] the urugua" (an indigenous gastropod , Pomella megastoma ). ^[9]

Course [ edit ]

The river measures about 1,838 kilometres (1,142 mi) in length and starts in the Serra do Mar in Brazil , ^{[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]} where the Canoas River and the Pelotas River are joined, at about 200 metres (660 ft) above mean sea level . At this stage, the river goes through uneven, broken terrain, forming rapids and falls. Its course through Rio Grande do Sul is not navigable.

An unusual feature of the Uruguay River is a submerged canyon . This canyon formed during the Ice Age , when the climate was drier and the river was narrower. Its depth is up to 100 metres (330 ft) below the bottom of the river channel and it is 1/8 to 1/3 as wide as the river. ^{[13] [15]} The canyon is only visible in two places, one of which is the Mocona Falls (also called the Yucuma Falls). However, the falls are not visible for 150 days per year and become more like rapids when they are not visible. Unlike most waterfalls , the Mocona Falls are parallel to the river, not perpendicular . The falls are 10 metres (33 ft) to 12 metres (39 ft) high and between 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) and 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) wide. They are 1,215 kilometres (755 mi) from the mouth of the river. ^{[13] [15]} The 17,491 hectares (43,220 acres) Turvo State Park , created in 1947, protects the Brazilian side of the falls. ^[16]

Together with the Parana River , the Uruguay forms the Rio de la Plata estuary . It is navigable from around Salto Chico . Its main tributary is the Rio Negro , which is born in the south of Brazil and goes through Uruguay for 500 km until its confluence with the Uruguay River, which is located 100 km north of the Uruguay's confluence with the Rio de la Plata, in Punta Gorda, Colonia Department , Uruguay.

The river is crossed by five international bridges called (from north to south): Integration Bridge and Paso de los Libres-Uruguaiana International Bridge , between Argentina and Brazil; and the Salto Grande Bridge , General Artigas Bridge and Libertador General San Martin Bridge between Argentina and Uruguay .

The drainage basin of the Uruguay River has an area of 365,000 square kilometres (141,000 sq mi). ^[4] Its main economic use is the generation of hydroelectricity and it is dammed in its lower portion by the Salto Grande Dam and by the Ita Dam upstream in Brazil.

Cellulose plant conflict [ edit ]

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Argentina and Uruguay experienced a conflict over the construction of pulp mills on the Uruguay River. Two European companies, ENCE and Botnia, proposed building cellulose processing plants at Fray Bentos , Uruguay, opposite Gualeguaychu , Argentina. According to a 1975 treaty, Argentina and Uruguay were supposed to jointly agree on matters relating to the Uruguay River. ^[17] Argentina alleged that Uruguay broke the treaty. Additionally, Argentina believed the Finnish company Botnia was polluting the fish and the overall environment of the river while Uruguay believed that the plant was not depositing a large amount of toxins in the Uruguay River. ^[18]

Starting in April 2005, residents of Gualeguaychu, as well as many others, protested, claiming that the plants would pollute the river shared by the two countries. Early in 2006, the conflict escalated into a diplomatic crisis , ^{[ citation needed ]} compelling one of the companies move the project 250 kilometres (160 mi) south. Beginning in December 2005, the international bridges linking the Argentine province of Entre Rios with Uruguay were intermittently blockaded by Argentine protesters, causing major disruptions in commercial traffic and tourism.

In 2006, Argentina brought the dispute before the International Court of Justice . The ICJ completed hearings between Argentina and Uruguay regarding the dispute on October 2, 2009. In 2010, the court ruled that although Uruguay failed to inform Argentina of the construction of the pulp mills, the mills did not pollute the river, so closing the remaining pulp mill would be unjustified. Later in 2010, Argentina and Uruguay created a joint commission to coordinate activities on the river.

Links across the Uruguay [ edit ]

The course of the Uruguay is crossed by the following bridges, beginning upstream:

See also [ edit ]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Uruguay River .

• List of rivers of the Americas
• Geography of Uruguay
• Tributaries of the Rio de la Plata

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

Media related to Uruguay River at Wikimedia Commons

• (in Spanish) Salto Grande Hydroelectric System
• Uruguay River at GEOnet Names Server
• Rio Uruguay at GEOnet Names Server
• Rio Uruguai at GEOnet Names Server
• "Map of the Uruguay River from Yapeyu to the Farm of Sn. Gregorio" from 1784