The Biobío River (also known as Bío Bío or Bio-Bio) is the second largest
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...
in
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 eas ...
. It originates from
Icalma and
Galletué lakes in 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 ...
and flows 380 km to the
Gulf of Arauco (in Spanish) on the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
.
The major tributaries of the river are the
Malleco and the
Laja. The river is Chile's second-longest river (the longest being the
Loa River) and the Biobío basin is Chile's third largest
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
, after the Loa and
Baker
A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Since grains ...
basins. The river is also the widest river in Chile, with an average width of 1 km. In the
Metropolitan area of
Concepción, the river is crossed by four bridges: Biobío Railroad Bridge (1889),
Juan Pablo II Bridge (1973), Llacolén Bridge (2000) and Bicentennial Bridge (2010).
Course
The Biobío River originates at the east shore of
Galletué Lake. The river flows east for a few kilometers to the point where it receives the waters of the near
Icalma Lake, through a short stream. It then turns its course northwestward, meandering through a broad
Andean
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 l ...
valley and merging with some minor tributaries, such as the
Lonquimay and the Rahue. The Lonquimay is fed by some glaciers of
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
and passes close to the town of the
same name. Just downstream from the confluence with the Rahue, the upper course of the river-locally known as ''Alto Bío Bío''-begins to run rapidly through a narrow valley surrounded by mountains, the path becoming increasingly sloped. Then the river, along the lower course of its tributaries in this area, is impounded by
Ralco Dam. Below the dam, the river skirts a southwestern spur of
Callaqui volcano before falling into
Pangue Reservoir.
After reaching the
Intermediate Depression, the river flows through a mostly flat area, being joined by the
Duqueco and
Bureo Rivers, increasing its width between 60 and 120 meters and reducing its speed, allowing navigation in some zones. In the middle course, the
Vergara River joins the Biobío near
Nacimiento, draining a substantial part of southern river basin after receiving the waters of the
Malleco,
Renaico and
Rahue Rivers, which constitute a northwest-oriented and parallel drainage network to the Biobío of a great part of the northern Andean portion of the
Araucanía Region
The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( es, Región de La Araucanía ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Te ...
.
Below the Vergara River, the Biobío is joined by the
Tavolevo River
Tavolevo River, a tributary of the Biobío River. in Chile. It has two tributaries the Culenco River flowing southeast from the Nahuelbuta Range in the Catirai region and the Nicodahue River that flows north from the La Araucanía Region and its ...
, flowing east from the
Nahuelbuta Range, the
Guaqui River coming from the east in the Andes foothills, and the small
Rele River coming from the west from the northern part of the eastern slopes of the Nahuelbuta Range.
To the east of the
Chilean Coastal Range, near the cities of
San Rosendo and
La Laja
La Laja is a corregimiento in Las Tablas District, Los Santos Province
Los Santos () is a province in Panama, reaching from the La Villa river in the North to the Pacific Ocean in the south and east. It is part of the Azuero Peninsula, bounde ...
, the Biobío River is joined by the
Laja River, its major tributary in terms of volume of water. From here, the river follows its course increasing its width considerably, reaching 2 km wide at its mouth on
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
, near
San Pedro de la Paz
San Pedro de la Paz () is a Chilean city and commune located in the Concepción Province, Biobío Region. It has some 80,447 inhabitants according to the 2002 national census. In 2005, the Pedro Aguirre Cerda avenue, the main avenue in the cit ...
,
Gran Concepción. Along the way, the
Quilacoya River joins the Biobío River on its north bank 9 km above the town of
Hualqui.
Diego Díaz Island

Diego Díaz Island ( es, Isla Diego Díaz) is a
river island
River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online.
Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...
in Biobío River located near
Colonia Santa Fe.
The river next to the island was navigated, upstream and downstream, in
colonial times.
[ In 1610, during the ]Arauco War
The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía (historic region), Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to estab ...
, Mapuche
The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...
s attacked the Spanish in the island killing 13 soldiers.
History
The name "Biobío" comes from Mapudungun
Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
, the Mapuche language. The Biobío was the traditional borderline, or " La Frontera", during the later part of the War of Arauco between La Araucanía, the southern Mapuche self-ruled areas and northern Spanish-ruled Captaincy General of Chile
The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...
. The territory south of the river was not incorporated into the Chilean state until the 1880s after the campaigns of the "Pacification of Araucanía
Pacification may refer to:
The restoration of peace through a declaration or peace treaty:
* Pacification of Ghent, an alliance of several provinces of the Netherlands signed on November 8, 1576
* Treaty of Berwick (1639), or ''Pacification of Ber ...
".
In the past, the river was navigable by ship up to the city of Nacimiento. However, deforestation during the 1900s led to heavy erosion that choked the river with silt and made it untraversable to boats.
In the early 1980s, it was renowned as being one of the world's best whitewater rafting
Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often ...
venues, with a trip that lasted seven days through some of Chile's wilderness areas. Endesa, the Chilean state-run power company at that time, constructed the Pangue Dam
Pangue Hydroelectric Plant is a hydroelectric power station in Bío Bío Region, Chile. It lies west of Callaqui volcano at the confluence of the rivers Pangue and Huiri-Huiri. The plant uses water from the upper Bío Bío River and produces o ...
, despite strong protests by environmentalists. With the loss of the whitewater rafting venue, displacement of indigenous Pehuenche
Pehuenche (or ''Pewenche'', people of the "pehuen" or "pewen" in Mapudungun) are an indigenous people of South America. They live in the Andes, primarily in present-day south central Chile and adjacent Argentina. Their name derives from their de ...
people, who had lived in the area for centuries, also occurred.
References
Sources
*This article draws partially on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, accessed July 10, 2007.
EVALUACION DE LOS RECURSOS HIDRICOS SUPERFICIALES EN LA CUENCA DEL RIO BIO BIO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biobio River
Rivers of Biobío Region
Rivers of Araucanía Region
Rivers of Chile