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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