The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado, ) is a river in the south of
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 ...
.
The Colorado River marks most of the political boundary between the
Argentine provinces of
Neuquén
Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén river ...
and
Mendoza, and between
Rio Negro and
La Pampa
La Pampa () is a sparsely populated province of 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 ...
. Its man-made dam, "Embalse Casa de Piedra," serves both to generate hydroelectricity for the arid region the river traverses, and to regulate the river's water level.
Course
Its sources are on the eastern slopes of 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 ...
in the same latitude as the
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 ...
an volcano
Tinguiririca (about 34° 48' S.) and takes a generally east-southeast course toward 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 ...
. After leaving the vicinity of the Andes, the Colorado flows through a barren, arid territory, and receives no tributary of note except the
Salado (or ''Curacó'') from
La Pampa Province—although it was once an outlet of the now-closed lake basin of
Laguna Urre Lauquen. The bottom lands of the Colorado, in its course across
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
, are fertile and wooded, but too small in area to support more than a small, scattered population.
[ The river ends about south of Bahía Blanca, through several channels of a ]delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
of the ''Unión Bay'' extending from latitude 39° 30' to 39° 50' S. Its total length is about , of which about , from the coast up to Pichi Mahuida, are navigable for vessels of up to draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
.
Naming
The river has usually been described as formed by the confluence of the Grande and the Barrancas. However, since the Barrancas is only a small stream compared to the Grande, it is more accurate to describe the Barrancas as a tributary that joins the main river, which is known as the "Grande" above where the Barrancas joins it, and the "Colorado" below that point.
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Rivers of Mendoza Province
Rivers of La Pampa Province
Rivers of Río Negro Province
Rivers of Buenos Aires Province
Rivers of Argentina