The Paraibuna is a river in

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

state,

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 a major tributary of the Paraíba do Sul. It flows through the important commercial and industrial city of

Juiz de Fora Juiz de Fora (, '' Outsider Judge''), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro. According to 2020 estimates the current population is about 57 ...

. The name of the river probably comes from the Tupi "pará y b'una" signifying "great dark river". The Paraibuna has its source near Antônio Carlos in the

Serra da Mantiqueira The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It rises abruptly from the ...

at an elevation of . It then flows northwest to southeast for through the cities of Antônio Carlos, Santos Dumont, Ewbank da Câmara,

, Matias Barbosa, Simão Pereira, Belmiro Braga, Santana do Deserto and Chiador before joining the Paraíba do Sul at an elevation of {{convert, 250, m, ft. Its principal tributaries are the Preto, Peixe, and Cágado rivers. From its confluence with the Preto to its mouth on the Paraíba, it serves as the border between the states of Minas Gerais and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. Along the valley of the Paraibuna were built the roads that opened up Minas Gerais and the Zona da Mata Mineira to settlement and development. Among these were the

Caminho Novo Estrada Real (, ''Royal Road'') was an epithet applied to the roads built and maintained by the Portuguese Crown both in Portugal itself and in the Portuguese overseas territories. Presently it is used to designate a set of colonial-era tou ...

das Minas in 1707, the

Estrada União e Indústria The Estrada de Rodagem União e Indústria (''Union and Industry Highway''), connecting the cities of Petrópolis and Juiz de Fora in the southeast of Brazil, was the first macadamized road in Latin America. It was opened on 23 June 1861 by the emp ...

in 1856 and also the

Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil The Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil was one of the principal railways of Brazil, uniting the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Origins On 9 February 1855, The imperial government of Brazil signed a contract with Edwar ...

railway. The

Marmelos Zero Power Plant The Marmelos Zero Power Plant is a decommissioned hydroelectric power plant on the Paraibuna River in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Inaugurated in 1889, plant was the first major hydroelectric power plant constructed in South America, speci ...

, the first hydroelectric plant in South America, was built on the Paraibuna in 1889 by the industrial magnate Bernardo Mascarenhas. This first plant (Marmelos Zero) produced 250 KW, enough to supply 1,080 people at the time. Eight years later Usina 1 was inaugurated with an energy potential eight times greater. In 1915 came Usina 2, in 1935 Usina 3, and in 1950 Usina 4. Today 12.5% of the energy needs of Juiz de Fora comes from these plants.

External links

CESAMA: Municipal Sanitation Company
Rivers of Minas Gerais

See also

External links