Paranaíba River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Paranaíba River is a Brazilian river whose source lies in the state of Minas Gerais in the Mata da Corda mountains, municipality of Rio Paranaíba, at an altitude of 1,148 meters; on the other face of this mountain chain are the sources of the Abaeté river, tributary of the São Francisco River. The length of the river is approximately 1,070 km up to the junction with the Grande river, both of which then form the Paraná River, at the point that marks the borders of the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Mato Grosso do Sul.
Its course is defined in three distinct sections: Upper Paranaíba - from the source to Km 370; Middle Paranaíba - from Km 370 to the Cachoeira Dourada dam, with a length of 370 Km; and Lower Paranaíba - from the Cachoeira Dourada dam to its outlet, with a length of 380 Km.
The main tributaries of the Paranaíba are the São Marcos, the Corumbá, the Meia Ponte, and the Bois. Major dams on its course are the Barragem de Emborcação, Barragem Itumbiara, Barragem de São Simão and Represa Ilha Solteira. Cachoeira Dourada near Itumbiara is one of the most important hydroelectric power stations in Brazil, providing energy to Goiânia and Brasília.
The Paranaíba is navigable only in the artificial lake of Ilha Solteira with an extension of 180 km as far as the dam of São Simão.
Because of the great pressure to use its resources it shows serious environmental problems.
In addition to the erosion of its banks caused by sand extraction and cutting down of the original forest growth, practically 100% of the towns that form its basin dump their sewage "in natura", including the capital of Goiânia, which dumps 95% of its sewage, untreated, directly into the Meia Ponte river, which then flows into the Paranaíba.
[edit] São Simão Channel
One of the greatest ecological losses in Brazil was the disappearance of the Sâo Simão Channel (Canal de São Simão) located on the lower stretch of the river. It was a narrow gorge cut into the basalt, with 23 kilometers length and 35 meters depth, situated on the boundary of the states of Minas and Goiás. The waters of the river, after dividing into two parallel arms, returned to a common bed, forming a corredor of waterfalls. Today this spectacle no longer exists. The building of the concrete dam at São Simão, with the need to increase the capacity of power of the hydroelectric power station, has created a huge lake whose waters have covered the channel.
