Salado River
Encyclopedia
The Salado River is a river
that crosses several provinces
of Argentina
, flowing 1150 kilometres (714.6 mi) from its source in the Salta Province
to end in the Paraná River
, in the Santa Fe Province
. Because its origin, its flow varies widely within the year, and it can dry out in some parts of its path during the winter. The only important tributary to the river is the Horcones River
, which is born in Salta as Cajón River, and joins the Salado in the Santiago del Estero Province
.
under the name of Juramento River at the Andes
range, from thaw and captured precipitations of the 6,500 metre high Acay and Cachi mountains in the Salta Province, near Catamarca Province
. The Cabra Corral Dam
regulates its flow, and deviates some of it for irrigation
.
When the river enters the Gran Chaco
plains it forms several arms
in a broad riverbed only partially occupied.
from the north, near the border with the Tucumán Province
, receiving the name of Salado. The Salado and the Dulce River
("Sweet River") south to it, run diagonally in direction south-east, and are the most important rivers to cross the arid lands of Santiago del Estero, being the economic and demographic axis of the province.
The flow of the river is regulated in the Figueroa Department by the Los Figueroa Reservoir, and by a Derivation Dam (Dique Derivador) that re-routes part of its waters to irrigation canal
s of up to 200 kilometres in length. Further downstream, the river forms wide marsh
wetlands and areas flooded seasonally, during the summer's major high waters. Downstream of the Añatuya marshlands the streamflow is greatly reduced, rendering the river dry most of the year.
as Salado del Norte ("Northern Salty") to finally join the Paraná River
in that province, being the last important tributary
to the Paraná.
The more abundant rainfall in Santa Fe Province causes the Salado's discharge to increase. During rainy summers, the river can overflow its riverbed producing flood
s. A 2003 flood
severely affected the city of Santa Fe
.
The Salado debouches into the Paraná River southeast of Santa Fe City, in a flooding area with lagoons.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
that crosses several provinces
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
of 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...
, flowing 1150 kilometres (714.6 mi) from its source in the Salta Province
Salta Province
Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
to end in the Paraná River
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
, in the Santa Fe Province
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
. Because its origin, its flow varies widely within the year, and it can dry out in some parts of its path during the winter. The only important tributary to the river is the Horcones River
Horcones River
The Horcones River is a river of Argentina. It is a tributary of the Salado River.-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993....
, which is born in Salta as Cajón River, and joins the Salado in the Santiago del Estero Province
Santiago del Estero Province
Santiago del Estero is a province of Argentina, located in the north of the country. Neighbouring provinces are from the north clockwise Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán.-History:...
.
Higher Salado
The Salado is originates on the eastern edge of the AltiplanoAltiplano
The Altiplano , in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet...
under the name of Juramento River at the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
range, from thaw and captured precipitations of the 6,500 metre high Acay and Cachi mountains in the Salta Province, near Catamarca Province
Catamarca Province
Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km². Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are : Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja...
. The Cabra Corral Dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
regulates its flow, and deviates some of it for irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
.
When the river enters the 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...
plains it forms several arms
Anabranch
An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel or stem of the watercourse and rejoins the main stem downstream. Local anabranches can be the result of small islands in the watercourse...
in a broad riverbed only partially occupied.
Santiago del Estero
The river then enters the Santiago del Estero ProvinceSantiago del Estero Province
Santiago del Estero is a province of Argentina, located in the north of the country. Neighbouring provinces are from the north clockwise Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán.-History:...
from the north, near the border with the Tucumán Province
Tucumán Province
Tucumán is the most densely populated, and the smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the capital is San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighboring provinces are, clockwise from the north: Salta, Santiago del Estero and...
, receiving the name of Salado. The Salado and the Dulce River
Dulce River (Argentina)
The Dulce River is the most important river in the Argentine province of Santiago del Estero....
("Sweet River") south to it, run diagonally in direction south-east, and are the most important rivers to cross the arid lands of Santiago del Estero, being the economic and demographic axis of the province.
The flow of the river is regulated in the Figueroa Department by the Los Figueroa Reservoir, and by a Derivation Dam (Dique Derivador) that re-routes part of its waters to irrigation canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s of up to 200 kilometres in length. Further downstream, the river forms wide marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
wetlands and areas flooded seasonally, during the summer's major high waters. Downstream of the Añatuya marshlands the streamflow is greatly reduced, rendering the river dry most of the year.
Lower Salado
After a course of 800 kilometres inside Santiago del Estero, the river reaches the Santa Fe ProvinceSanta Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
as Salado del Norte ("Northern Salty") to finally join the Paraná River
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
in that province, being the last important tributary
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...
to the Paraná.
The more abundant rainfall in Santa Fe Province causes the Salado's discharge to increase. During rainy summers, the river can overflow its riverbed producing flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
s. A 2003 flood
2003 Santa Fe flood
This article is about the flooding of Santa Fe, capital of the , in April 2003. Santa Fe is the fifth most populated city in Argentina , and it is surrounded by rivers...
severely affected the city of Santa Fe
Santa Fe, Argentina
Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the...
.
The Salado debouches into the Paraná River southeast of Santa Fe City, in a flooding area with lagoons.
Other Argentine rivers called Salado
There are other, less important Salado rivers in Argentina, the most important of them being:- In Buenos Aires ProvinceBuenos Aires ProvinceThe Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, the Río SaladoSalado River (Buenos Aires)The Salado River is a river in northern Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It originates at El Chañar Lake on the border with Santa Fe Province, above mean sea level, and flows generally southeast for before debouching into Samborombón Bay, part of the Río de la Plata estuary on the Atlantic Ocean...
starts at the El Chañar lagoon and runs shoutheast some 650 kilometres to the Samborombón BaySamborombón BaySamborombón Bay is a bay of Argentina, located at the Río de la Plata's mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about southeast of Buenos Aires. The bay is about long and stretches from Point Piedras in the north to Point Norte, starting point of Cape San Antonio.The bay receives the Salado and...
. - In Mendoza ProvinceMendoza ProvinceThe Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...
, San Luis ProvinceSan Luis ProvinceSan Luis is a province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country . Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza and San Juan.-History:...
and La Pampa ProvinceLa Pampa ProvinceLa Pampa is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza.-History:...
, the Desaguadero-Salado runs down to the Colorado RiverColorado River (Argentina)The Colorado River is a river in the south of Argentina.The Colorado river marks most of the political limit between the provinces of Neuquén and Mendoza, and between Rio Negro and La Pampa...
. - In Catamarca ProvinceCatamarca ProvinceCatamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km². Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are : Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja...
and La Rioja ProvinceLa Rioja Province (Argentina)La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.-History:...
, the local Colorado river is also referred to as Salado river.
See also
External links
- Salado River at Monografias.com (Spanish)
- Rio Salado: INTA's Planification (Spanish)
- Political History of the Salado (Spanish)