Bío-Bío River
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| Bío-Bío River | |
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| Origin | Galletué and Icalma Lakes |
| Mouth | Gulf of Arauco |
| Basin countries | Chile |
| Length | 380 km |
| Source elevation | 1,430 m |
| Avg. discharge | 899 m³/s |
| Basin area | 24,029 km² |
The Bío-Bío River (alternate spellings Biobío or Bio Bio) is the second largest river in Chile. It originates from Icalma and Galletué lakes in the Andes and flows 380 km to the Gulf of Arauco on the Pacific Ocean. It was the traditional borderline during the War of Arauco between southern Mapuche self-ruled areas and northern Spanish-ruled Chile. The territory south of the river was not incorporated into the Chilean state until the 1880s after the campaigns of the "Pacification of the Araucanía".
In the early 1980s it was renowned as being one of world's best whitewater rafting 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, despite strong protests by environmentalists. With the loss of the whitewater rafting venue, there was also the displacement of indigenous Pehuenche people, who had lived in the area for centuries.
The major tributaries of the river are the Malleco and the Laja.
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