The Pinturas River (,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for Painted River or River of Paintings) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

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 ...

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 ...

, running through the

Pinturas River Canyon The Pinturas River Canyon () is a canyon located 160 km from the town of Perito Moreno in Santa Cruz, Argentina. It is home to the Pinturas River, which carved the canyon through eroding the Chon Aike Formation. Native populations inhabited ...

, near the

Cueva de las Manos Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for Cave of the Hands or Cave of Hands) is a cave and complex of rock art sites in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, south of the town of Perito Moreno. It is named for the hundreds of paintings of hands ste ...

archeological site. The river's main tributary is the Ecker River. The Pinturas River itself is a tributary of the

Deseado River Deseado River () is a river in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz. The name Deseado comes from the English ''Desire'', the name of one of the two ships commanded by John Davis during the Thomas Cavendish expedition of 1592. The source of t ...

Location

The Pinturas River is located in

Course

The river has its source in the Andes Mountains, in the small massif of Mount Zeballos (2,743 m), located south of Lake Buenos Aires. It initially runs eastward for a hundred kilometers, bending at first in the north-south direction before turning into the south-north direction. Then it continues north towards the

through the

, where

is located. The river and the canyon are 150 km long. The Pinturas then flows into the Deseado River, completing its journey across the canyon. The main tributary of the Pinturas River is the Ecker River. The Pinturas River runs through the Pinturas River canyon at a height of 240m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

Prehistoric sites

The Pinturas River is located near many archaeological and rock art sites, which is why its

name translates literally to mean the Painted River or River of Paintings. Most well-known among these sites is

, a

world heritage site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

which is located along the upper banks of the river.

References

Rivers of Argentina Rivers of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina {{Argentina-river-stub