Río de la Plata
estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and Uruguay / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Río de la Plata (called River Plate in British English) is a river in Argentina. It is an estuary made from the Uruguay River and the Paraná River. These rivers are on the border between Argentina and Uruguay. It is about 290 kilometres (180 miles) long.
Quick Facts Río de la Plata River Plate, La Plata River, Platine River, Etymology ...
Río de la Plata River Plate, La Plata River, Platine River | |
---|---|
Etymology | Spanish for "river of silver" |
Location | |
Countries | Argentina and Uruguay |
Cities |
|
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Confluence of Paraná and Uruguay Rivers |
- location | Argentina/Uruguay |
- coordinates | 34°0′5″S 58°23′37″W[1] |
Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
- location | Argentine Sea, Argentina |
- coordinates | 35°40′S 55°47′W[2] |
Length | 290 km (180 mi)[3] 4,876 km (3,030 mi) including the Paraná |
Basin size | 3,170,000 km2 (1,220,000 sq mi)[4] 3,182,064 km2 (1,228,602 sq mi)[5] |
Discharge | |
- location | Rio de La Plata, Atlantic Ocean |
- average | (Period 1971-2010)
27,225 m3/s (961,400 cu ft/s)[5] 22,000 m3/s (780,000 cu ft/s)[3] 884 km3/a (28,000 m3/s)[6] |
- 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 |
Close
The Río de la Plata widens from about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) at the inner part to about 220 km (140 mi) at its mouth.[7] Buenos Aires is on its western shore. Montevideo is on its northern shores.
The Río de la Plata is home for the loggerhead sea turtle, green sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle, the rare La Plata dolphin, and many species of fish.