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The Paraíba do Sul (), or simply Paraíba, is a
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in southeast Brazil. It flows west to northeast from its farthest source at the source of the river Paraitinga to the sea near
Campos dos Goytacazes Campos dos Goytacazes () is a city located in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 483,540 inhabitants. It is the largest city in Rio de Janeiro (state) outside of the Greater Rio de Janeiro metropolitan ar ...
. The river receives its name when it meets the river Paraibuna at the Paraibuna dam. Its main
tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...
are the rivers Jaguari, Buquira, Paraibuna, Preto, Pomba and
Muriaé Muriaé is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in southeast Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is located in the Zona da Mata (Minas Gerais), Zona da Mata region and its population in 2022 (IBGE) was approximately 104,108 inhabitants. Importan ...
. These last two are the longest and join the main river and from the
mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...
respectively . The valley of the Paraíba do Sul ranges from the latitudes 20°26' and 23°39'S and the longitudes of 41° and 46°30'W and covers an area of about distributed over three states. The main economic activities are industry and cattle raising.


Navigation

Presently only two parts of the river can be navigated: * The lower section, between the mouth and São Fidélis, about 90 km. It has a declivity of 22 cm/km. There is incipient navigation carried out by small boats that transport mainly construction material to the city of Campos dos Goytacazes. * The upper middle section, between Cachoeira Paulista and Guararema, about . Despite the small declivity of 19 cm/km, navigation is restricted to tourist boats. Elsewhere navigation is hampered by various obstacles; waterfalls,
rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...
, sections with great declivity and various
hydroelectric 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 ...
works with no locks. Other factors impeding navigation are the existence of highway and railway bridges, the proximity of roads and railways following the riverbank and the location of several cities on its banks.


Centres of population

The Paraíba Valley is very fertile and has always been a region of relatively dense population. Cities located on or near the river are * State of Rio de Janeiro: ** Barra do Piraí ** Barra Mansa ** Três Rios ** Paraiba do Sul ** Sapucaia **
Campos dos Goytacazes Campos dos Goytacazes () is a city located in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 483,540 inhabitants. It is the largest city in Rio de Janeiro (state) outside of the Greater Rio de Janeiro metropolitan ar ...
- center of a rich
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
growing area ** Vassouras - site of a highly respected agricultural university **
Volta Redonda Volta Redonda () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil with an area of 182.81 km2, located from 350m to 707m above the sea level (22°31'23" S, 44°06'15" W) and with a pop ...
- site of Brazil's first steel industry) * State of São Paulo: ** Aparecida - site of Brazil's most famous Marian pilgrimage site ** Guaratinguetá **
São José dos Campos São José dos Campos (, meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a major city and the seat of the Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. One of the leading industrial and res ...
- high-tech industry and home to Embraer, Brazil's aircraft manufacturer ** Taubaté -
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
and Ford plants * State of Minas Gerais: ** Além Paraíba ** Estrela Dalva **
Juiz de Fora Juiz de Fora (; ), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 census the current population is 54 ...
- Important manufacturing city on the Paraibuna River, one of the major tributaries of the Paraíba.


Ecology

Unlike rivers in northern Brazil where seasonal variations in water temperature generally are relatively limited, those in southern Brazil, such as Paraíba do Sul, exhibit distinct differences between winter and summer. During a survey of the river in Lorena, São Paulo, the water varied from in the summer to in the winter.Napoleão, D.A.; Filho, H.J.; Siqueira, A.F; Guimarães, O.L.; Gomes, M.A.; and Castro, R.T. (2012).
Monitoramento da qualidade da água do rio paraíba do sul no município de Lorena-SP.
''
The pH is neutral and generally fluctuates between 6 and 8. The Paraíba do Sul basin is home to just above 100 native fish species with most in the families
Loricariidae Loricariidae is the largest family (biology), family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with over 90 genus, genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South A ...
,
Characidae Characidae, the characids, is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish belonging to the order Characiformes. They are found throughout much of Central and South America, including such major waterways as the Amazon and Orinoco Riv ...
and Trichomycteridae.Hales, J.; and Petry, P:
Paraiba do Sul.
'' Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
About 40% of the fish species in the river basin are
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
(the genus '' Oligobrycon'' is entirely restricted to the basin) and new species have been discovered in recent years, including the small catfish '' Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis'' that only was scientifically described in 2013. As a consequence of flowing through one of the most densely populated and industrialised parts of Brazil, the Paraíba do Sul suffers from pollution.Calza, C.; Anjosa, M.J.; Castroa, C.R.F.; Barrosob, R.C.; Araujoc, F.G.; and Lopesa, R.T. (2004). ''Evaluation of heavy metals levels in the Paraíba do Sul River by SRTXRF in muscle, gonads and gills of Geophagus brasiliensis.'' Radiation Physics and Chemistry 71: 787–788. ICMBio (2011).
Plano de Ação Nacional para Conservação das Espécies Aquáticas da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul.
' Série Espécies Ameaçadas 16.
Studies of the native cichlid '' Geophagus brasiliensis'' have found that levels of some heavy metals exceed the limits set by the Brazilian Food Legislation. Other threats are dams and the approximately 70
introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
, including 46 species of non-native fishMagalhães, A.L.B.; and Jacobi, C.M. (2008).
Ornamental exotic fish introduced into Atlantic Forest water bodies, Brazil.
' Neotropical Biology and Conservation 3(2): 73-77.
and the parasitic copepod '' Lernaea cyprinacea''. Several native species (e.g., '' Brycon insignis,'' '' Pogonopoma parahybae'' and '' Steindachneridion parahybae'') are seriously threatened, and a general fall in abundance and species richness has been observed. Some, such as the endemic '' Hypostomus auroguttatus'', have successfully adapted to the changes. The catfish '' Potamarius grandoculis'' is only known from the vicinity of the mouth of the Paraíba do Sul and Doce Rivers, but it may already be
extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
. ICMBio (Ministry of the Environment, Brazil)
Portaria MMA nº 445, de 17 de dezembro de 2014
Lista de Especies Ameaçadas - Saiba Mais. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
Other threatened species in the Paraíba do Sul basin are the bivalves '' Diplodon dunkerianus'', '' D. expansus'' and '' D. fontaineanus'', and the Hoge's side-necked turtle (''Mesoclemmys hogei''). A national conservation plan with recommendations for the river basin was published in 2010.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paraiba Do Sul Rivers of Minas Gerais Rivers of Rio de Janeiro (state) Rivers of São Paulo (state)