page_title: Río de la Plata
hierarchical_section_title: Río de la Plata
caption_attribution_description: Map showing the Río de la Plata drainage basin including major tributaries and cities.
context_page_description: The Río de la Plata —named River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth and La Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay and the Paraná rivers at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean, forming 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. It is the widest river in the world, with a maximum width of 220 kilometres.
  The river is about 290 kilometres long, and it widens from about 2 kilometres at its source to about 220 kilometres at its mouth. It forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay, with the major ports and capital cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo on its western and northern shores, respectively. The coasts of the river are the most densely populated areas of Uruguay and Argentina.
context_section_description: The Río de la Plata ([ˈri.o ðe la ˈplata] (listen), lit. "river of silver")—named River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth and La Plata River (occasionally Plata River) in other English-speaking countries—is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay and the Paraná rivers at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean, forming 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. It is the widest river in the world, with a maximum width of 220 kilometres (140 mi).
   
  The river is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) long, and it 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, with the major ports and capital cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo on its western and northern shores, respectively. The coasts of the river are the most densely populated areas of Uruguay and Argentina.
caption: 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
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