The Colorado River (, ) is a river in the center of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The Colorado River marks most of the political boundary between the Argentine provinces of

Neuquén Neuquén (; ) 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 rivers which form t ...

and Mendoza, and between Rio Negro and La Pampa. Its man-made dam, "Embalse Casa de Piedra," serves both to generate

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

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 Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

in the same latitude as the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an volcano Tinguiririca (about 34° 48' S.) and the river takes a generally east-southeast course toward the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. 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 La Pampa () is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza. History In ...

—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 () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

, 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 Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...

, through several channels of a

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

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 v ...

. It is nearly if calculated Río Desaguadero within.

Naming

The river has usually been described as formed by the confluence of the Grande and the

Barranca Barranca (Spanish for "canyon" or "ravine"), may refer to: Geography Argentina * Barranca Yaco, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, Argentina Chile * Barrancas, Pichilemu, a village in Pichilemu Colombia * Barrancas, La Guajira, town and ...

rivers. 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