The Jacuí River () is a river in Rio Grande do Sul state of southern

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 ...

. The Jacuí empties into the

Guaíba River Guaíba is a city located in the Metropolitan Porto Alegre of Porto Alegre, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is on the shores of the Guaíba Lake. History In the current territory of the municipality of Guaíba there have ...

, an estuarine arm of the

Lagoa dos Patos Lagoa dos Patos (, , ; English: ''Ducks' Lagoon'') is the largest lagoon in Brazil and the largest coastal lagoon in South America. It is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. It covers an area of , is long and has a maximu ...

, a large coastal lagoon connected to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Sources

The Jacuí River, known as 'Rio Jacuí' in Portuguese, has its origins in the highlands east of

Passo Fundo Passo Fundo is a municipality in the north of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is named after its river. It's the twelfth largest city in the state with an estimated population of 204,722 inhabitants living in a total municip ...

. From there it flows south and then east for nearly . The Taquari, Caí, Sinos, and Gravataí rivers merge into the Jacuí near its mouth. At

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

, near the Atlantic coast, the Jacuí transforms into a shallow estuary, known as the Guaíba River, and flows into the Patos Lagoon. Boats can travel up the river as far as

Cachoeira do Sul Cachoeira do Sul () is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southernmost Brazil. Its Marian Catedral da Nossa Senhora da Conceição http://www.gcatholic.org/churches/brazil/2666.htm GCatholic is the episcopal see of the Roman Cathol ...

Regional effects

The Dona Francisca Hydroelectric Dam impounds the upper Jacuí River, and is divided between the municipalities of Agudo and

Nova Palma Nova Palma is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The municipality contains part of the hydroelectric Dona Francisca Dam on the upper Jacuí River. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul References

M ...

, Rio Grande do Sul. The Quarta Colônia State Park is on the left bank of the reservoir of the Dona Francisca dam, with an area of . The park was created in 2005 as environmental compensation for the hydroelectric plant. The estuary contains the Banhados do Delta Biological Reserve, which protects the islands of Pólvora and Pombas.

References

Rivers of Rio Grande do Sul {{RioGrandedoSul-river-stub