Río Colorado (Argentina)

See also: Colorado (homonymy)

The Río Colorado is an important river of the south of the Argentine. It is commonly allowed that it constitutes the northern border of the Patagonie Argentina. In fact, if that is politically exact since one finds in the south of his bed all the provinces of Patagonie Argentina, it is not completely true ecologically, since the biomes of Patagonie are still present in the southern fringe of the provinces located at the north of its bed. Its length is of 1114 km.

Flow

Its current medium flow is of 148 cubic meters a second on the level of Butted Ranquil, shortly after the confluence Río Large-Río Barrancas (given collected of 1939 to 2004). Downstream it crosses quasi desert zones and loses a small portion of its flow, which one estimates at 130,7 m ³ /seconde in Pichi Mahuida, with a few 300 kilometers of its mouth (given collected of 1918 to 2004).

There exist cyclic risings over one period of more or less 11 years. The flow can then reach and exceed the 11.000 m ³ /s. Every year, the maximum ordinary ones take place in September and August (time of the thaw), and are about 500 m ³ /s.

Cours superior

He has his sources in the Andes cordillera (roughly with), between the Mary cord with the north and the slopes of the Volcan Domuyo in the south, not far from the Argentinian locality of El Montón , i.e. in the east of the frontier collar transandin of " Paso Barrancas".
In his Andean higher course, one names it Río Barrancas . It receives there like principal affluent (with southern 36º49') on the left, the Río Grande which brings in fact more of the three quarters of its flow. Then it follows a direction general south-east to its mouth, forming a delta in the Atlantic Ocean and this inside the province of Buenos Aires.

The lake Lauquen Curry

Until 1914, the section of Colorado itself, i.e. with the name of Río Colorado, began in a big lake of more than 10 km ² of nonglacial origin, formed by a collapse mountainous and called by the Mapuche S Cari Lauquen (where " Cari" = black and " lauquen" = great quantity of water), but this year, on December 29th, following very strong precipitations and to the concomitant thaw, the natural stopping which blocked the valley and had created the lake, yielded partially, which caused a memorable catastrophe.

The level and the surface of the big lake Cari Lauquén decreased by this fact. There remains today but of reduced size. It is the Laguna Cari Lauquen , located at the border between the provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén.

See also: Lake Curry Lauquen

Cours inferior

After having received on its left abundant water of the Río Large (Mendoza), the river gives up the mountainous region of the Andes. It runs consequently in a narrow and boxed valley, through an arid area, parallel to Río Negro, with which it forms a rather narrow interfluve. It forms the border between the provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén then between those of the Pampa and Río Negro.

This valley shelters only one sparsity of the population, contrary to that of the Río Negro. The most important agglomeration is the pampéenne city bordering on the province of Río Negro, of 25 of Mayo . Not far from this one the stopping of Casa of Piedra or Rucacurá was built, which created beautiful a artificial lake.

The last 320 kilometers are navigable for boats of less than 7 feet with draft (section Pichi the Mahuida-Atlantic).

The basin

Currently, in 2006, the basin of the río Colorado is only of 50.236 km ². This basin is however naturally dependant with that of the Argentinian Desaguadero by the means of the natural channel called Río Curacó which joins certain years him with. Indeed if precipitations are abundant in the area of Cuyo, the basin of Desaguadero becomes exoreic and tributary of that of Río Colorado, thus increasing its basin and while carrying the surface with step less than 350.000 km ², so that this basin becomes the wider second of Argentina, after that of the Río Paraná.

In spite of the thin flows of the twentieth century, it is not interdict to think that a broad and drastic improvement of the use of the water of all the affluents of Desaguadero can restore the junction between the two basins. It would be a great upheaval in the geography of Argentina which could thus have an enormous inland waterway for boats of weak and average gauge. What would get a direct outlet on the Atlantic with the products of the area of the Cuyo and that of the Comahue.

See too

  • the cause of the collapse of the frontal stopping of the lake Cari Lauquen is analyzed in the article on the lake Cari Lauquen.
  • List of rivers in the world

External bond

  • detailed Chart of the province of Mendoza with the drawing of the courses of Río Colorado and Río Large

  • surface Basins in Argentina

Random links:Rocky Mountains | Medieval art | EADS Defense and safety | Amael | Vampires | Sash