The Palena River or Carrenleufú is a river shared by

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 ...

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 ...

in Northern Patagonia. It drains the waters of the Vintter Lake, also shared by these nations, and it flows into the Pacific Ocean. 56.5% of the river basin lies in Chile. This river has a regular glacial regime and rapid white waters. The rapids between Palena and Puerto Raúl Marín Balmaceda are choice kayaking

white water Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and w ...

. The volume and rapid drop in elevation of the river is ideal for

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

s. There are several projects at both sides of the border to use this power.

Course

The river originates as the Carrenleufú as the out-flow from Lake Vintter. Its major tributaries include the Tranquilo, Figueroa, Frío, Risopatrón and Melimoyu rivers.

References

External links

Cuenca del Río AysénPalena River
Rivers of Argentina Rivers of Chile Rivers of Chubut Province Rivers of Los Lagos Region Rivers of Aysén Region International rivers of South America {{Chile-river-stub

Course

See also

References

External links