Paraná River - wikipedia Paraná River This article is about the second - longest river in South America. For the shorter river in Goiás, central Brazil, see Paranã River. Paraná River Rio Paraná, Río Paraná Paraná River seen from Zárate, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina Countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay Region Mesopotamia, Argentina Primary source Paranaíba River - location Rio Paranaíba, Minas Gerais, Brazil - elevation 1,148 m ( 3,766 ft ) - length 1,070 km ( 665 mi ) - coordinates 19 ° 13 ′ 21 '' S 46 ° 10 ′ 28 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 19.22250 ° S 46.17444 ° W ﻿ / - 19.22250 ; - 46.17444 Secondary source Rio Grande - location Bocaina de Minas, Minas Gerais, Brazil - length 1,090 km ( 677 mi ) - coordinates 22 ° 9 ′ 56 '' S 44 ° 23 ′ 38 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 22.16556 ° S 44.39389 ° W ﻿ / - 22.16556 ; - 44.39389 Source confluence Paranaíba and Grande - coordinates 20 ° 5 ′ 12 '' S 51 ° 0 ′ 2 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 20.08667 ° S 51.00056 ° W ﻿ / - 20.08667 ; - 51.00056 Mouth Rio de la Plata - location Atlantic Ocean, Argentina - elevation 0 m ( 0 ft ) - coordinates 34 ° 0 ′ 5 '' S 58 ° 23 ′ 37 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 34.00139 ° S 58.39361 ° W ﻿ / - 34.00139 ; - 58.39361 Coordinates : 34 ° 0 ′ 5 '' S 58 ° 23 ′ 37 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 34.00139 ° S 58.39361 ° W ﻿ / - 34.00139 ; - 58.39361 Length 4,880 km ( 3,032 mi ) Basin 2,582,672 km ( 997,175 sq mi ) Discharge for mouth - average 17,290 m / s ( 610,600 cu ft / s ) - max 65,000 m / s ( 2,295,500 cu ft / s ) - min 2,450 m / s ( 86,500 cu ft / s ) Map of the Rio de la Plata Basin showing the Paraná River and its major tributaries The Paraná River ( Spanish : Río Paraná, Portuguese : Rio Paraná, 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 ). It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase `` para rehe onáva '', which comes from the Tupi language and means `` like the sea '' ( that is, `` as big as the sea '' ). It merges first 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 Englishman Sebastian Cabot, in 1526, while sailing for Spain. Contents 1 Course 2 Uses 3 Gallery 4 Links across the Paraná 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Course The course is formed at the confluence of the Paranaiba and Rio Grande rivers in southern Brazil. From the confluence the river flows in a generally southwestern direction for about 619 km ( 385 mi ) before encountering the city of Saltos del Guaira, Paraguay. This was once the location of the Sete Quedas waterfall, where the Paraná fell over a series of seven cascades. This natural feature was said to rival the world - famous Iguazu Falls to the south. The falls were flooded, however, by the construction of the Itaipu dam, which began operating in 1984. For approximately the next 200 km ( 120 mi ) the Paraná flows southward and forms a natural boundary between Paraguay and Brazil until the confluence with the Iguazu River. Shortly upstream from this confluence, however, the river is dammed by the Itaipu Dam, the second largest hydroelectric power station in the world ( after the Three Gorges Dam in the People 's Republic of China ), and creating a massive, shallow reservoir behind it. After merging with the Iguazu, the Paraná then becomes the natural border between Paraguay and Argentina. Overlooking the Paraná River from Encarnación, Paraguay, across the river, is downtown Posadas, Argentina. The river continues its general southward course for about 468 km ( 291 mi ) before making a gradual turn to the west for another 820 km ( 510 mi ), and then encounters the Paraguay River, the largest tributary along the course of the river. Before this confluence the river passes through a second major hydroelectric project, the Yaciretá dam, a joint project between Paraguay and Argentina. The massive reservoir formed by the project has been the source of a number of problems for people living along the river, most notably the poorer merchants and residents in the low - lying areas of Encarnación, a major city on the southern border of Paraguay. River levels rose dramatically upon completion of the dam, flooding out large sections of the city 's lower areas. From the confluence with the Paraguay River, the Paraná again turns to the south for another approximately 820 km ( 510 mi ) through Argentina, making a slow turn back to the east near the city of Rosario for the final stretch of less than 500 km ( 310 mi ) before merging with the Uruguay River to form the Río de la Plata, which discharges into the Atlantic Ocean. During the part of its course downstream from the city of Diamante, Entre Ríos, it splits into several arms and forms the Paraná Delta. Main article : Paraná Delta Uses Together with its tributaries, the Rio Paraná forms a massive Drainage basin that encompasses much of the south - central part of South America, essentially including all of Paraguay, much of southern Brazil, northern Argentina, and even parts of Bolivia. If the Uruguay River is counted as a tributary to the Paraná, this watershed extends to cover much of Uruguay as well. The volume of water flowing into the Atlantic Ocean through the Río de la Plata roughly equals the volume at the Mississippi River delta. This watershed contains a number of large cities, including São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Asunción, and Brasília. The Paraná and its tributaries provide a source of income and of daily sustenance for fishermen who live along its banks ; some fish species ( such as the surubí and the sábalo ) are commercially important and exploited for heavy internal consumption or for export. The Parana River delta ranks as one of the world 's greatest bird - watching destinations. Much of the length of the Paraná is navigable and serves as an important waterway linking inland cities in Argentina and Paraguay to the ocean, providing deep water ports in many of these cities. The construction of enormous hydroelectric dams along the river 's length has blocked its use as a shipping corridor to cities further upstream, but the economic impact of those dams offsets this. The Yacyretá and Itaipu dams on the Paraguay border have made the small, largely undeveloped nation of Paraguay the world 's largest exporter of hydroelectric power. Due to its use for ocean - going ships, water - table measurements reach back to 1904. The data correlates with the solar cycle. Gallery The sun rising over the Paraná River, from the north - east of Rosario, Argentina Rio Parana seen from Spot Satellite Container ship, traveling downstream by the city of Ramallo, Argentina The Rosario - Victoria Bridge Astronaut photograph showing a 29 - kilometre ( 18 mi ) stretch of the Paraná, just downstream of Goya, Argentina Links across the Paraná The course of the Paraná is crossed by the following bridges, beginning upstream : Crossing Location Built Carries Coordinates Brazil Rodoferroviária Bridge Aparecida do Taboado - Rubinéia 1998 20 ° 06 ′ 17.9 '' S 51 ° 00 ′ 32.4 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 20.104972 ° S 51.009000 ° W ﻿ / - 20.104972 ; - 51.009000 Ilha Solteira Dam Selvíria - Ilha Solteira 1973 20 ° 22 ′ 54.2 '' S 51 ° 21 ′ 59.7 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 20.381722 ° S 51.366583 ° W ﻿ / - 20.381722 ; - 51.366583 Engineer Souza Dias Dam Três Lagoas - Castilho 1968 BR - 262 20 ° 46 ′ 44.7 '' S 51 ° 37 ′ 49.3 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 20.779083 ° S 51.630361 ° W ﻿ / - 20.779083 ; - 51.630361 Paulicéia - Brasilândia Bridge Brasilândia - Paulicéia 2009 BR - 158 21 ° 16 ′ 08.4 '' S 51 ° 51 ′ 18.8 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 21.269000 ° S 51.855222 ° W ﻿ / - 21.269000 ; - 51.855222 Hélio Serejo ( Maurício Joppert ) Bridge Bataguassu - Presidente Epitácio 1964 BR - 267 21 ° 45 ′ 12.1 '' S 52 ° 11 ′ 05.6 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 21.753361 ° S 52.184889 ° W ﻿ / - 21.753361 ; - 52.184889 Sérgio Motta ( Porto Primavera ) Dam Rosana 1999 22 ° 28 ′ 30.5 '' S 52 ° 57 ′ 29.6 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 22.475139 ° S 52.958222 ° W ﻿ / - 22.475139 ; - 52.958222 Porto Camargo Bridge Alto Paraíso BR - 487 23 ° 22 ′ 24.5 '' S 53 ° 46 ′ 08.3 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.373472 ° S 53.768972 ° W ﻿ / - 23.373472 ; - 53.768972 Ayrton Senna Bridge Mundo Novo - Guaíra 1998 BR - 163 24 ° 03 ′ 31 '' S 54 ° 15 ′ 28.6 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 24.05861 ° S 54.257944 ° W ﻿ / - 24.05861 ; - 54.257944 Brazil - Paraguay Friendship Bridge Ciudad del Este - Foz do Iguaçu 1965 Route 7 - BR - 277 25 ° 30 ′ 33.5 '' S 54 ° 36 ′ 03.3 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 25.509306 ° S 54.600917 ° W ﻿ / - 25.509306 ; - 54.600917 Paraguay - Argentina San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge Encarnación - Posadas 27 ° 22 ′ 09.3 '' S 55 ° 51 ′ 43.3 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 27.369250 ° S 55.862028 ° W ﻿ / - 27.369250 ; - 55.862028 Yacyretá Dam Ayolas - Ituzaingó 27 ° 28 ′ 58.5 '' S 56 ° 44 ′ 19.5 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 27.482917 ° S 56.738750 ° W ﻿ / - 27.482917 ; - 56.738750 Argentina General Manuel Belgrano Bridge Resistencia - Corrientes 1973 National Route 16 27 ° 28 ′ 12.3 '' S 58 ° 51 ′ 35.1 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 27.470083 ° S 58.859750 ° W ﻿ / - 27.470083 ; - 58.859750 Second Resistencia - Corrientes Bridge Resistencia - Corrientes Planned Reconquista - Goya Bridge Reconquista - Goya Planned Raúl Uranga - Carlos Sylvestre Begnis Subfluvial Tunnel Santa Fe - Paraná 1969 National Route 168 31 ° 42 ′ 08.7 '' S 60 ° 30 ′ 12.6 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 31.702417 ° S 60.503500 ° W ﻿ / - 31.702417 ; - 60.503500 Second Santa Fe - Paraná Bridge Santa Fe - Paraná Planned Rosario - Victoria Bridge Rosario - Victoria 2003 National Route 174 32 ° 52 ′ 11.4 '' S 60 ° 41 ′ 07.9 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 32.869833 ° S 60.685528 ° W ﻿ / - 32.869833 ; - 60.685528 Bartolomé Mitre Bridge Zárate 1977 National Route 12 34 ° 06 ′ 10.9 '' S 59 ° 00 ′ 10 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 34.103028 ° S 59.00278 ° W ﻿ / - 34.103028 ; - 59.00278 Justo José de Urquiza Bridge Zárate 1977 National Route 12 33 ° 54 ′ 37.1 '' S 58 ° 53 ′ 06.9 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 33.910306 ° S 58.885250 ° W ﻿ / - 33.910306 ; - 58.885250 See also Tributaries of the Río de la Plata Paraná River steamers References Jump up ^ `` Monitoramento da Qualidade das Águas Superficiais da Bacia do Río Paranaíba : Relatório Annual 2007 '' ( PDF in ZIP ). Governo do Estado de Minas Gerais, Instituto Mineiro de Gestão das Águas. 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Parana River ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 26 May. 2012 < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/443063/Parana-River >. `` Rio de la Plata ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 26 May. 2012 < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/463804/Rio-de-la-Plata > Jump up ^ Río Paraná Guazú at GEOnet Names Server ( main distributary ) Jump up ^ Iriondo, Martín H., Juan César Paggi, and María Julieta Parma, eds. The Middle Paraná River : limnology of a subtropical wetland. Chapter `` Birds. '' Springer Science & Business Media, 2007. Jump up ^ Pablo J.D. Mauas & Andrea P. Buccino. `` Long - term solar activity influences on South American rivers '' page 5. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar - Terrestrial Physics on Space Climate, March 2010. Accessed : 20 September 2014. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paraná River. Information and a map of the Paraná 's watershed `` Paraná ''. New International Encyclopedia. 1905. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Paraná_River&oldid = 796715206 '' Categories : Paraná River Rivers of Argentina Rivers of São Paulo ( state ) Rivers of Mato Grosso do Sul Rivers of Paraná ( state ) Rivers of Paraguay Argentina -- Paraguay border Brazil -- Paraguay border International rivers of South America Alto Paraná Department Border rivers Hidden categories : Wikipedia type : river page with obscure country or subdivision Coordinates on Wikidata Geobox usage tracking for river type Articles containing Spanish - language text Articles containing Portuguese - language text Articles containing Guaraní - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017 Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the New International Encyclopedia Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Avañe'ẽ Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه Башҡортса Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ भोजपुरी Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Чӑвашла Čeština Chi - Chewa Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Kiswahili Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Lumbaart Magyar मराठी მარგალური Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча پنجابی Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు ไทย Українська اردو Tiếng Việt Winaray 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 22 August 2017, at 17 : 05. 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Question: where is parana river located on a map
Answer: south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina