The Biobío River (also known as Bío Bío or Bio-Bio) is the second largest
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. It originates from
Icalma and
Galletué lake
Galletué Lake, also spelled as Gualletué Lake, is located in the Andes of the La Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides. Issuing from the lake on its eastern side is one of the two sources of the Biobío ...
s in the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
and flows 380 km to the
Gulf of Arauco
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
(in Spanish) on the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.
The major tributaries of the river are the
Malleco and the
Laja. The river is Chile's second-longest river (the longest being the
Loa River
The Loa River (Spanish: Río Loa) is a U-shaped river in Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. At long, it is the country's longest river and the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert.
Course
The Loa's sources are located on Andean mountain sl ...
) and the Biobío basin is Chile's third largest
watershed, after the Loa and
Baker
A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Since grains ha ...
basins. The river is also the widest river in Chile, with an average width of 1 km. In the
Metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
of
Concepción, the river is crossed by four bridges: Biobío Railroad Bridge (1889),
Juan Pablo II Bridge
The Juan Pablo II Bridge, also known as Puente Nuevo ("New Bridge"), is a bridge in Chile connecting Concepción and Talcahuano with San Pedro de la Paz, through the Biobío River. Since completion in 1974 it has remained the longest bridge in ...
(1973), Llacolén Bridge (2000) and Bicentennial Bridge (2010).
Course
The Biobío River originates at the east shore of
Galletué Lake
Galletué Lake, also spelled as Gualletué Lake, is located in the Andes of the La Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides. Issuing from the lake on its eastern side is one of the two sources of the Biobío ...
. The river flows east for a few kilometers to the point where it receives the waters of the near
Icalma Lake
Icalma Lake is a lake of glacial origin located in the Andes of the La Araucanía Region of Chile. A hamlet on the southern shore of the lake is also called Icalma. About from the hamlet is Icalma Pass, in elevation and on the border with Argen ...
, through a short stream. It then turns its course northwestward, meandering through a broad
Andean
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...
valley and merging with some minor tributaries, such as the
Lonquimay
Lonquimay is a town and commune in the Malleco Province of southern Chile's Araucanía Region.
Transport
It is the terminus of an abandoned broad gauge railway project which supporters cited as the most practical railway route through the An ...
and the Rahue. The Lonquimay is fed by some glaciers of
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
and passes close to the town of the
same name. Just downstream from the confluence with the Rahue, the upper course of the river-locally known as ''Alto Bío Bío''-begins to run rapidly through a narrow valley surrounded by mountains, the path becoming increasingly sloped. Then the river, along the lower course of its tributaries in this area, is impounded by
Ralco Dam
Ralco Hydroelectric Plant is a hydroelectric power station and dam in Bío Bío Region, Chile. The plant uses water from the upper Bío Bío River and produces of electricity. The plant was built by ENDESA in 2004. The project has proven contr ...
. Below the dam, the river skirts a southwestern spur of
Callaqui volcano before falling into
Pangue Reservoir
Pangue Hydroelectric Plant is a hydroelectric power station in Bío Bío Region, Chile. It lies west of Callaqui volcano at the confluence of the rivers Pangue and Huiri-Huiri. The plant uses water from the upper Bío Bío River and produces of ...
.
After reaching the
Intermediate Depression
The Central Valley ( es, Valle Central), Intermediate Depression, or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley extends from the border with Peru to Puerto Montt in ...
, the river flows through a mostly flat area, being joined by the
Duqueco and
Bureo River
Estero Bureo a small river on the Pacific coast of the Tomé commune, Concepcion Province, Biobío Region of Chile north of Penco and south of the Itata River
The Itata River flows in the Ñuble Region, southern Chile.
Until the Conquest of C ...
s, increasing its width between 60 and 120 meters and reducing its speed, allowing navigation in some zones. In the middle course, the
Vergara River
Vergara River is a river located in the Intermediate Depression of Chile. The river rises at the junction of the Malleco and Rehue rivers, close to the city of Angol. joins the Biobío near
Nacimiento, draining a substantial part of southern river basin after receiving the waters of the
Malleco,
Renaico
Renaico () is a city and commune forming part of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located on the south bank of the Renaico River.
Demographics
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Ins ...
and
Rahue River
Rahue River () is a river of Chile located in Los Lagos Region. It rises at the western end of the Rupanco Lake. In its middle course, the river flows through the city of Osorno in a north-south direction. Rahue river empties into the Bueno River ...
s, which constitute a northwest-oriented and parallel drainage network to the Biobío of a great part of the northern Andean portion of the
Araucanía Region
The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( es, Región de La Araucanía ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Te ...
.
Below the Vergara River, the Biobío is joined by the
Tavolevo River
Tavolevo River, a tributary of the Biobío River. in Chile. It has two tributaries the Culenco River flowing southeast from the Nahuelbuta Range in the Catirai region and the Nicodahue River that flows north from the La Araucanía Region and its ...
, flowing east from the
Nahuelbuta Range
The Nahuelbuta Range or Cordillera de Nahuelbuta () is a mountain range in Bio-Bio and Araucania Region, southern Chile. It is located along the Pacific coast and forms part of the larger Chilean Coast Range. The name of the range derives from th ...
, the
Guaqui River Guaqui or Guaque River is a tributary of the Bío Bío River in the Bío Bío Region of Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the ...
coming from the east in the Andes foothills, and the small
Rele River coming from the west from the northern part of the eastern slopes of the Nahuelbuta Range.
To the east of the
Chilean Coastal Range
The Chilean Coastal Range ( es, Cordillera de la Costa) is a mountain range that runs from north to south along the Pacific coast of South America parallel to the Andean Mountains, extending from Morro de Arica in the north to Taitao Peninsula, ...
, near the cities of
San Rosendo
San Rosendo () is a Chilean city and commune in Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region.
The city of San Rosendo lies on the gentle slopes of a hill overlooking the confluence of the rivers Bío Bío and Laja, which respectively bound the city ...
and
La Laja
La Laja is a corregimiento in Las Tablas District, Los Santos Province, Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern pa ...
, the Biobío River is joined by the
Laja River, its major tributary in terms of volume of water. From here, the river follows its course increasing its width considerably, reaching 2 km wide at its mouth on
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, near
San Pedro de la Paz
San Pedro de la Paz () is a Chilean city and commune located in the Concepción Province, Biobío Region. It has some 80,447 inhabitants according to the 2002 national census. In 2005, the Pedro Aguirre Cerda avenue, the main avenue in the city, ...
,
Gran Concepción
Gran may refer to:
People
*Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran"
* Gran (name)
Places
* Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary
* Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...
. Along the way, the
Quilacoya River Quilacoya River is located in the Hualqui commune of Concepcion Province of Chile. It has course of about 40 kilometers with a small volume. It originates in the southern slopes of the series of heights of Lucay that run from east to west in the so ...
joins the Biobío River on its north bank 9 km above the town of
Hualqui
Hualqui () is a Chilean city and commune in the Concepción Province, Biobio Region. It is also part of the Greater Concepcion conurbation, although it maintains a rural profile. It had a population of 24,333 inhabitants according to the 201 ...
.
Diego Díaz Island
Diego Díaz Island ( es, Isla Diego Díaz) is a
river island
River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online.
Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...
in Biobío River located near
Colonia Santa Fe.
The river next to the island was navigated, upstream and downstream, in
colonial times
The ''Colonial Times'' was a newspaper in what is now the Australian state of Tasmania. It was established as the ''Colonial Times, and Tasmanian Advertiser'' in 1825 in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colon ...
.
[ In 1610, during the ]Arauco War
The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...
, Mapuche
The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...
s attacked the Spanish in the island killing 13 soldiers.
History
The name "Biobío" comes from Mapudungun
Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
, the Mapuche language. The Biobío was the traditional borderline, or " La Frontera", during the later part of the War of Arauco
The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...
between La Araucanía, the southern Mapuche self-ruled areas and northern Spanish-ruled Captaincy General of Chile
The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...
. The territory south of the river was not incorporated into the Chilean state until the 1880s after the campaigns of the " Pacification of Araucanía".
In the past, the river was navigable by ship up to the city of Nacimiento. However, deforestation during the 1900s led to heavy erosion that choked the river with silt and made it untraversable to boats.
In the early 1980s, it was renowned as being one of the world's best whitewater rafting
Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
venues, with a trip that lasted seven days through some of Chile's wilderness areas. Endesa, the Chilean state-run power company at that time, constructed the Pangue Dam
Pangue Hydroelectric Plant is a hydroelectric power station in Bío Bío Region, Chile. It lies west of Callaqui volcano at the confluence of the rivers Pangue and Huiri-Huiri. The plant uses water from the upper Bío Bío River and produces o ...
, despite strong protests by environmentalists. With the loss of the whitewater rafting venue, displacement of indigenous Pehuenche
Pehuenche (or ''Pewenche'', people of the "pehuen" or "pewen" in Mapudungun) are an indigenous people of South America. They live in the Andes, primarily in present-day south central Chile and adjacent Argentina. Their name derives from their de ...
people, who had lived in the area for centuries, also occurred.
References
Sources
*This article draws partially on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, accessed July 10, 2007.
EVALUACION DE LOS RECURSOS HIDRICOS SUPERFICIALES EN LA CUENCA DEL RIO BIO BIO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biobio River
Rivers of Biobío Region
Rivers of Araucanía Region
Rivers of Chile