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32-460: The Aripuanã is a clearwater river . In Mato Grosso to the south of the border with Amazonas the river defines the western boundary of the 227,817 hectares (562,950 acres) Igarapés do Juruena State Park , created in 2002. To the north of the Amazonas border it flows through the 224,291 hectares (554,240 acres) Aripuanã Sustainable Development Reserve , created in 2005. Further north in Amazonas

64-643: A generally southwesterly course, passing through the Brazilian city of Cáceres . It then turns in a generally southward direction, flowing through the Pantanal wetlands, the city of Corumbá , then running close to the Brazil-Bolivia border for a short distance in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul . From the city of Puerto Bahia Negra, Paraguay, the river forms the border between Paraguay and Brazil, flowing almost due south before

96-580: A navigable waterway serving Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, the river has been the focus of commercial and industrial development. In 1997, the governments of the nations of the La Plata Basin proposed a plan under the Hidrovia Inter-Governmental Commission agency to develop the rivers into an industrial waterway system to help reduce the costs of exporting goods from the area, in particular the soybean crop that

128-589: A river in Mato Grosso , Brazil is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Clearwater river (river type) A clearwater river is classified based on its chemistry, sediments and water colour. Clearwater rivers have a low conductivity , relatively low levels of dissolved solids , typically have a neutral to slightly acidic pH and are very clear with a greenish colour. Clearwater rivers often have fast-flowing sections. The main clearwater rivers are South American and have their source in

160-433: A single river, depending on season or heavy rains. The difference in chemistry and visibility between the various black, white and clearwater rivers result in distinct differences in flora and fauna. Although there is considerable overlap in the fauna found in the different river types, there are also many species found only in one of them. Many blackwater and clearwater species are restricted to relatively small parts of

192-579: Is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil , Bolivia , Paraguay and Argentina . It flows about 2,695 kilometres (1,675 mi) from its headwaters in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso to its confluence with the Paraná River north of Corrientes and Resistencia . The Paraguay's source is south of Diamantino in the Mato Grosso state of Brazil. It follows

224-522: Is a tourist attraction for its beauty. The original inhabitants of the upper Paraguay River were the Guarani peoples . The Paraguay River was explored in the 16th century by Sebastian Cabot , who at that time became the first recorded European to discover both the Paraná and Paraguay rivers. For hundreds of years, this river has served as the main route of Paraguay to the outside world. Since that time,

256-432: Is also a source of commerce in the form of fishing, and provides irrigation for agriculture along its route. As such it provides a way of life for a number of poor fishermen who live along its banks and make the majority of their income selling fish in local markets, as well as supplying a major source of sustenance for their families. This has created issues in large cities such as Asunción, where poverty-stricken farmers from

288-542: Is typically neutral to slightly acidic , but the pH can range between 4.5 and 8. In the Amazon basin, clearwater rivers flowing through regions with sediments of Tertiary age are typically highly acidic, while those flowing through sediments of Carboniferous age are closer to neutral or slightly basic . As suggested by the name, clearwater rivers are highly transparent with a typical visibility of 1.5–4 m (5–13 ft). There can be large variations, even within

320-628: The Brazilian Plateau or the Guiana Shield . Outside South America the classification is not commonly used, but rivers with clearwater characteristics are found elsewhere. Amazonian rivers fall into three main categories: clearwater, blackwater and whitewater . This classification system was first proposed by Alfred Russel Wallace in 1853 based on water colour, but the types were more clearly defined according to chemistry and physics by Harald Sioli  [ de ] from

352-691: The Madeira (notably Guaporé , Ji-Paraná and Aripuanã ) and Paraguay (although heavily influenced by its whitewater tributaries). The Tapajós and Xingu alone account for 6% and 5%, respectively, of the water in the Amazon basin . Examples of clearwater rivers originating in the Guiana Shield include the upper Orinoco (above the inflow of the blackwater Atabapo and whitewater Inírida – Guaviare ), Ventuari , Nhamundá , Trombetas , Paru , Araguari and Suriname . Outside South America

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384-695: The Trans-Amazonian Highway (BR-230) crosses the Aripuanã. North of the highway the river flows through the 751,302 hectares (1,856,510 acres) Aripuanã National Forest , a sustainable development unit created in 2016 in the last week before the provisional removal of president Dilma Rousseff . It then flows through the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve before meeting the Madeira. There are four dams on

416-527: The 1950s to the 1980s. Although many Amazonian rivers fall clearly into one of these categories, others show a mix of characteristics and may vary depending on season and flood levels. The main clearwater rivers are South American and have their source in the Brazilian Plateau or the Guiana Shield . Examples of clearwater rivers originating in the Brazilian Plateau include Tapajós , Xingu , Tocantins , several large right-bank tributaries of

448-502: The Amazon, as different blackwater and clearwater systems are separated (and therefore isolated) by large whitewater sections. These "barriers" are considered a main force in allopatric speciation in the Amazon basin. Many species of fish, which often are threatened (especially by dams ), are only known from clearwater rivers. Large sections with rapids are home to specialized, rheophilic fish, as well as aquatic plants such as Podostemaceae . There are major differences in

480-516: The Paraguay River is warmer than the lower and generally its temperature does not fall below 22.5 °C (72.5 °F), although some upper Paraguay tributaries may fall below this. The Paraguay River ecoregion has high species richness with about 350 fish species, including more than 80 endemics . About 80% of the fish species in the river are characiforms (tetras and allies) and siluriforms (catfish). Several of these migrate up

512-534: The Paraguay River to spawn, including Prochilodus lineatus and Pseudoplatystoma corruscans . Unsurprisingly many species in the river are essentially of Paraná River Basin origin, but the fauna also has a connection with two Amazonian rivers, the Guaporé and Mamoré . While flowing in different directions, the Paraguay, Guaporé and Mamoré all have their source in the same region in central South America. Among

544-677: The Paraguay has not been dammed for hydroelectric power generation; for this reason it is navigable for a considerable distance, second only to the Amazon River in terms of navigable length on the continent. This makes it an important shipping and trade corridor, providing a much-needed link to the Atlantic Ocean for the otherwise landlocked nations of Paraguay and Bolivia. It serves such important cities as Asunción and Concepción in Paraguay and Formosa in Argentina. The river

576-576: The Paraná River. The Paraguay River is the second major river of the Rio de la Plata Basin , after the Paraná River. The Paraguay's drainage basin , about 1,095,000 square kilometres (423,000 sq mi), covers a vast area that includes major portions of Argentina, southern Brazil, parts of Bolivia, and most of the country of Paraguay. Unlike many of the other great rivers of the Rio de la Plata Basin,

608-538: The Rios Vivos coalition to educate people on the effects of the project was successful in delaying the project, and the nations involved agreed to reformulate their plan. The final plan is still uncertain, along with the effect it will have on the Pantanal and the ecology of the entire Río de la Plata basin. The controversy over whether or not the project will have a disastrous effect on the local ecology, as well as

640-611: The amount of macrophytes and this is mainly related to light: heavily shaded clearwater rivers have few, while those flowing through more open regions often contain many. Clearwater rivers have relatively low productivity compared to whitewater rivers, resulting in a comparably low insect abundance. Paraguay River 4,550 m /s (161,000 cu ft/s) The Paraguay River ( Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani , Rio Paraguai in Portuguese , Río Paraguay in Spanish )

672-489: The area has embraced. The plan entailed constructing more hydroelectric dams along some of the waterways, along with a massive effort to restructure the navigable waterways—most notably the Paraguay River—through dredging of the waterway, rock removal and channel restructuring. Studies indicated that the proposed river engineering of the Paraguay would have a devastating impact on the Pantanal wetlands. An effort by

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704-527: The classification is not commonly used, but rivers with clearwater characteristics are found elsewhere, such as the upper Zambezi River , certain upland streams in major river basins of South and Southeast Asia, and many streams of northern Australia. In South America, clearwater rivers typically have their source and flow through regions with sandy soils and crystalline rocks . These are generally ancient, of Precambrian origin, and therefore heavily weathered, allowing relatively few sediments to be dissolved in

736-517: The confluence with the Apa River . The Paraguay makes a long, gentle curve to the south-southeast before resuming a more south-southwesterly course, dividing the country of Paraguay into two distinct halves: the Gran Chaco region to the west, a largely uninhabited semi-arid region; and the eastern forested departments of the country, accounting for some 98% of the country's inhabitants. As such

768-409: The country's interior have populated the river's banks in search of an easier lifestyle. Seasonal flooding of the river's banks sometimes forces many thousands of displaced residents to seek temporary shelter until the waters recede from their homes. The Paraguayan military has been forced to dedicate land on one of its reserves in the capital to emergency housing for these displaced citizens. The river

800-399: The inflow of Bermejo River, the pH of the Paraguay River may reach up to 8.2. The typical pH of the Paraguay River is 5.8—7.4 in the upper part (defined as the section before the inflow of the first non-Pantanal tributary , the Apa River ) and 6.3—7.9 in the lower part. The peak of the flood season in the Paraguay River (measured at Corumbá ) is delayed 4–6 months compared to the peak of

832-483: The latter river type. Nevertheless, although clearwater rivers can have extremely low nutrient levels similar to blackwater, some such as the Tapajós, Xingu and Tocantins have nutrient levels that are intermediate between black and whitewater. The exact chemistry of clearwater rivers varies, but it is often very similar to rainwater, low in major nutrients with sodium as the relatively dominating chemical. The water

864-502: The potential economic gains, continues to this day. The Paraguay River basin includes several distinctive habitats, ranging from very clear waters such as Rio da Prata ( pt ) near Bonito in the upper part to the sediment-rich Bermejo River in the lower part. The suspended load of the Paraguay River is about 100 milligrams per litre (3.6 × 10  lb/cu in) before the inflow of Bermejo, but rises to about 600 milligrams per litre (2.2 × 10  lb/cu in) after. Directly after

896-524: The rainy season due to the slow passage of water through the Pantanal wetlands. There are significant temperature variations depending on the season. During the low-water season, the water of the Paraguay River is relatively warm (typically above 27 °C or 81 °F) and clouded ( Secchi depth typically less than 32 cm or 13 in), but in the flood season it is colder (typically 18–26.3 °C or 64.4–79.3 °F) and clearer (Secchi depth typically 26–130 cm or 10–51 in). The upper part of

928-423: The river ( Dardanelos Dam , Faxinal I and Faxinal II at Aripuanã town, and Juína Dam west of Juína ) and a fifth is planned ( Prainha Dam on the middle Aripuanã River). These have impacted the environment and caused conflicts with indigenous people . This article related to a river in the Brazilian state of Amazonas is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

960-425: The river has had its vitality and importance, but is used today for a convoy of barges . The Paraguay River is the primary waterway of the 147,629-square-kilometre (57,000 sq mi) Pantanal wetlands of southern Brazil, northern Paraguay and parts of Bolivia. The Pantanal is the world's largest tropical wetland and is largely dependent upon waters provided by the Paraguay River. Owing to its importance as

992-571: The river is considered perhaps the key geographical feature of the country with which it shares its name. Some 400 kilometres (250 mi) after flowing through the middle of Paraguay, at the confluence with the Pilcomayo River and passing the Paraguayan capital city, Asunción , the river forms the border with Argentina, flowing generally south-southwesterly for another 275 kilometres (171 mi) before it reaches its end, joining with

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1024-412: The water. This results in the low conductivity , relatively low levels of dissolved solids and clear colour typical of clearwater rivers. Sand and kaolinite are the typical sediments transported by clearwater rivers, similar to blackwater, but unlike whitewater that also transports high levels of illite and montmorillonite , resulting in a significantly higher fertility of places influenced by

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