The Bermejo River (Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, Río Bermejo) is a river in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 that flows from Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

 to the Paraguay River

Paraguay River

The Paraguay River is a major river in south central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina...

 in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. The river is generally called Bermejo in spite of its different names along its way, but it also has its own Native America

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

n names; in Wichí it is called Teuco, and in Guaraní

Guaraní language

Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...

 it is called Ypitá. In the plains of Argentina's Gran Chaco

Gran Chaco

The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...

 the Bermejo forms wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s and splits into two branches. The southern branch is the bed of the old Bermejo River, now an intermittent stream called Río Bermejito. The northern branch is now the main stem

Main Stem

"Main Stem" is 1942 instrumental by Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra. Although recorded in 1942, the single would not be released until 1944 where it was Duke Ellington's last of four number one's on the Harlem Hit Parade. "Main Stem" would also peak at number twenty on the pop chart"Main...

 of the Bermejo and is called the Teuco River (Río Teuco), Bermejo Nuevo, or simply the Bermejo River. The two branches rejoin at 25°39′S 60°11′W, near Villa Río Bermejito

Villa Río Bermejito

Villa Río Bermejito is a village and municipality in Chaco Province in northern Argentina.-References:...

, forming the Lower Bermejo River.

The Bermejo River is 1060 kilometres (658.7 mi) long and has a drainage basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 of 123000 square kilometres (47,490.6 sq mi) in area. Its mean annual discharge

Discharge (hydrology)

In hydrology, discharge is the volume rate of water flow, including any suspended solids , dissolved chemical species and/or biologic material , which is transported through a given cross-sectional area...

 is irregular and varies between 20 m3/s and 14000 m3/s.

The river is born in a mountain range known as Sierra de Santa Victoria around coordinates 22°00′14"S 64°57′30"W near Tarija

Tarija, Bolivia

Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is both the capital and largest city within the Tarija Department, with an airport offering regular service to primary Bolivian cities, as well as a regional bus terminal with domestic and...

, a few kilometres southeast of Chaguaya

Chaguaya

Chaguaya is a small town in Bolivia. In 2009 it had an estimated population of 858....

 in Bolivia, and not far from La Quiaca

La Quiaca

La Quiaca is a small city in the north of the , on the southern bank of the La Quiaca River, opposite the town of Villazón, Bolivia. It lies at the end of National Route 9, from San Salvador de Jujuy , and at an altitude of above mean sea level.La Quiaca has 14,751 inhabitants as per the...

, Jujuy Province

Jujuy Province

Jujuy is a province of Argentina, located in the extreme northwest of the country, at the borders with Chile and Bolivia. The only neighboring Argentine province is Salta to the east and south.-History:...

, Argentina. In general, it maintains a southeastern direction. At its highest part, its main tributaries

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 are the Lipeo River

Lipeo River

The Lipeo River is a river of Argentina. It is a tributary of the Bermejo River.-See also:* List of rivers of Argentina* List of tributaries of the Río de la Plata-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993....

, and further downstream the Grande de Tarija, the Iruya River

Iruya River

The Iruya River is a river of Argentina. It is a tributary of the Pescado River.-See also:* List of rivers of Argentina* List of tributaries of the Río de la Plata-References:...

, and the San Francisco River

San Francisco River (Argentina)

The San Francisco River is a river of Argentina. It is a tributary of the Bermejo River.-See also:*List of rivers of Argentina-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993....

. It forms part of the international boundary between Argentina and Bolivia.

The Bermejo is not navigable. In the late 19th century, numerous attempts were made to open up the commercial navigation of the river, but all of them failed, largely due to the river's shallow waters, which carry enormous amounts of sediment. Near the Tropic of Capricorn

Tropic of Capricorn

The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent.Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five...

, the river splits in two; the smaller southern branch, Bermejito, and the northern branch that known as the Teuco River (also called Bermejo or Bermejo Nuevo). When leaving the province of Salta, the Teuco marks the boundary between the provinces

Provinces of Argentina

Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...

 of Chaco

Chaco Province

Chaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...

 and Formosa

Formosa Province

Formosa Province is in northeastern Argentina, part of the Gran Chaco Region. Its northeast end touches Asunción, Paraguay, and borders the provinces of Chaco and Salta to its south and west, respectively...

.

The Bermejito, is intermittent and meander

Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...

ing. It crosses Chaco Province near the El Impenetrable jungle. On the shores of this river can still be seen the ruins of the former towns of Concepcion del Bermejo

Concepción del Bermejo, Chaco

Concepción del Bermejo is a village and municipality in Chaco Province in northern Argentina.-References:...

, San Bernardo de Vértiz (25°8′S 61°8′W), and La Cangayé (25°36′S 60°19′W).

The Teuco follows its course to finality and into the Paraguay River

Paraguay River

The Paraguay River is a major river in south central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina...

, in front of the city of Pilar

Pilar, Paraguay

Pilar is the capital city of the Paraguayan department of Ñeembucú, located along the Paraguay River in the southwestern part of the country. Located about from Asunción, Pilar serves as an important center of commerce and government for the far southwestern region of the country.- History :Pilar...

, in Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

.

The river carries red-coloured sediments and produces irregular accumulations that can even alter the course of the river, leaving the older paths as wet depressions.

Note: the upper part of the Desaguadero River

Desaguadero River

The Desaguadero River is the general name of a river in western Argentina that receives a number of different names on its path of 1,515 kilometres, with its most important section named Desaguadero proper.-Spring:...

is sometimes also called the Bermejo.