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__NOTOC__ The Iguazu River ( pt, Rio Iguaçu, br , es, Río Iguazú} ), also called Rio Iguassu, is a river in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. It is an important tributary of the
Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...
. The Iguazu River is long, with a
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
of .


Course

The Iguazu originates in the
Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...
coastal mountains of the Brazilian state of Paraná and close to
Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...
. For , to its confluence with the
San Antonio River The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...
, the Iguazu flows west through Paraná State, Brazil. Downriver from the confluence the Iguazu River forms the boundary between Brazil and Argentina's
Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes ...
. Continuing west, the river drops off a plateau, forming
Iguazu Falls Iguazú Falls or Iguaçu Falls ( gn, Chororõ Yguasu , es, Cataratas del Iguazú, links=no ; pt, Cataratas do Iguaçu ) are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná ...
, which are accessible via the
Rainforest Ecological Train The Rainforest Ecological Train or Waterfalls Train (''Tren Ecológico de la Selva'' or ''Tren de las Cataratas'') is a narrow gauge train that runs through the forest inside Iguazú National Park in the north of the province of Misiones of Argent ...
. The falls are within national parks in both Brazil,
Iguaçu National Park Iguaçu National Park () is a national park in Paraná State, Brazil. It comprises a total area of and a length of about , of which are natural borders by bodies of water and the Argentine and Brazilian sides together comprise around . Iguaçu ...
, and Argentina, Iguazú National Park. It empties into the Paraná River at the point where the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
join, an area known as the
Triple Frontier The Triple Frontier ( es, Triple Frontera, pt, Tríplice Fronteira) is a tri-border area along the junction of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers converge. Near the confluence are the cities of Puerto Igua ...
.


Ecology

Unlike tropical South American rivers where the annual variations in temperature are relatively limited, the water in the
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
Iguazu River varies significantly depending on season. At two sites, one located just above and another just below the falls, the water at both varied from about , and average was just below .Nardelli, Bueno, Ludwig, and Guimarães (2016).
Structure and dynamics of the planktonic diatom community in the Iguassu River, Paraná State, Brazil.
' Braz. J. Biol. 76(2).
The pH is typically near-neutral, ranging from 5.9 to 8.7. About 100 fish species are native to the Iguazu River and several
undescribed species In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...
are known.Daga, Debona, Abilhoa, Gubiani & Vitule (2016). ''Non-native fish invasion of Neotropical ecoregion with high endemism: a review of the Iguaçu River.'' Aquatic Invasions 11(2): 209-223.Baumgartner, Pavanelli, Baumgartner, Bifi, Debona & Frana (2012).
Peixes do baixo rio Iguaçu.
' EDUEM. DOI:10.7476/9788576285861
Most fish species in the river are
catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
,
characiform Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationshi ...
s and
cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...
s.Piálek, Dragová, Casciotta, Almirón & Řičan (2015). ''Description of two new species of Crenicichla (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the lower Iguazú River with a taxonomic reappraisal of C. iguassuensis, C. tesay and C. yaha.'' Historia Natural 5(2): 5-27. About 70% are
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
, which to a large extent is linked to the falls, serving both as a home for
rheophilic A rheophile is an animal that prefers to live in fast-moving water. Examples of rheophilic animals Insects *Many aquatic insects living in riffles require current to survive. *'' Epeorus sylvicola'', a rheophilic mayfly species ( Ephemeropter ...
species and isolating species above and below. This also means that, with the exception of the threatened ''
Steindachneridion ''Steindachneridion'' is a genus of South American pimelodid catfish ( order Siluriformes). Taxonomy The first species of the genus, ''S. parahybae'', was described in 1877 by Franz Steindachner under the name ''Platystoma parahybae''. Later, ...
melanodermatum'' in the lower part, large migratory fish known from much of the Paraná River Basin are naturally absent from Iguazu. Almost 30
introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
are found in the river where about one-third originate from other continents (such as
carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
,
largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...
,
tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...
and
African sharptooth catfish ''Clarias gariepinus'' or African sharptooth catfish is a species of catfish of the family Clariidae, the airbreathing catfishes. Distribution They are found throughout Africa and the Middle East, and live in freshwater lakes, rivers, and sw ...
) and the remaining from elsewhere in South America (such as
dorado Dorado () is a constellation in the southern sky. It was named in the late 16th century and is now one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name refers to the dolphinfish (''Coryphaena hippurus''), which is known as ''dorado'' in Spanish, altho ...
, ''
Cichla Peacock bass or Brazilian tucunaré are large freshwater cichlids of the genus ''Cichla''. These are diurnal predatory fishes native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as well as rivers of the Guianas, in tropical South America. They are s ...
kelberi'', pacu, '' Brycon hilarii'', ''
Prochilodus lineatus ''Prochilodus lineatus'', the streaked prochilod, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Prochilodontidae. It is native to the Paraná—Paraguay and Paraíba do Sul river basins in South America. It performs long breeding migrations an ...
'' and ''
Odontesthes bonariensis ''Odontesthes bonariensis'' is a species of Neotropical silverside, an euryhaline fish native to fresh, brackish and salt water in south-central and southeastern South America, but also introduced elsewhere. It is often known by the common nam ...
''). The unusual ''
Aegla The Aeglidae are a family of freshwater crustaceans currently restricted to South America. They are the only anomurans to be found in fresh water except for a single hermit crab species, '' Clibanarius fonticola'', on Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu ...
'' crustacean are locally common in the Iguazu River Basin.


Environmental issues

In July 2000 more than of
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
spilled into the river from a state-run oil refinery in the municipality of
Araucária Araucária is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Paraná (state), Paraná. The population in 2020 was 146,214 inhabitants. History The first movement of the white man in today Araucaria Brazil, dating back to the year 1668,period in which ...
near
Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...
.


See also

*
List of rivers of Argentina This is a list of rivers of Argentina. Longest Rivers By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. Rivers in the table above are in bold. La Plata Basin * R ...
*
List of rivers of Brazil This is a list of rivers of Brazil. Alphabetical list of rivers in Brazil A–C * Acari River (Rio de Janeiro) * Acari River (Roraima) * Acauã River * Acre River * Açu River * Açuã River * Acurauá River * Acuriá River * Adela ...


References

{{Authority control Rivers of Argentina Rivers of Brazil Tributaries of the Paraná River International rivers of South America Rivers of Paraná (state) Rivers of Misiones Province Foz do Iguaçu Border rivers Argentina–Brazil border