Chubut
Chubut is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- -43.79°, -68.13°
About Chubut
The Chubut River (English: ; Spanish: Río Chubut; Welsh: Afon Camwy [ˈavɔn ˈkamʊɨ̯]) is located in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina. Its name comes from the Tehuelche word chupat, which means 'transparent'. The Argentine Chubut Province, through which the river flows, is named after it. Welsh settlers called the river Afon Camwy, meaning 'twisting river'.
The river is generally shallow and its water flow can vary from 4 to 400 cubic metres per second (140 to 14,130 cu ft/s) between drought and flood. Average discharge is about 60 cubic metres per second (2,100 cu ft/s).
Flooding made the lands beside the river fertile and important for agriculture. The river has great importance for the agricultural and general economy of the province. There were several attempts to create dams near the two townships of Rawson and Gaiman. The Chubut River has a very rare characteristic being higher than the land around it which is mostly arid. Wheat farming was the chief crop and mainstay of the agricultural and commercial resources of Patagonia. At this time the settlers were struggling with finance as they were using sterling, which was in very short supply.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Chubut River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Chubut in Depth
Course
The river flows eastwards for approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi), from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean, emptying at Engaño Bay near Rawson. The main arm of the Chubut originates in Carreras, Río Negro Province, and its basin covers a large area of the western Andean foothills between Bariloche and Esquel. It is also fed by the Chico River. The many branches join some distance before the small town of Piedra Parada, where the terrain becomes the flat plain characteristic of Argentinian Patagonia. It flows east and passes by the town of Paso del Sapo, where it turns southeast through relatively unpopulated central Chubut. It meets Highway 25 and turns east once again.
History
In the 19th century, Welsh settlers arrived in Chubut and established the colony Y Wladfa (Spanish:Colonia Gales) in the valley of the Chubut river. Today, the Welsh language and Welsh tea houses are common in several towns, many of which have Welsh names. Dolavon and Trelew are examples of Welsh towns.
There are historical records of floods in the valley each year in the 1865–1884 period except 1866 and 1873, and then in 1899, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1923, 1932, 1939, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1958. Flooding in the 1884–1901 period devastated most of all the town of Gaiman but also Rawson. As consequence Trelew that lied in a more protected position grew in importance.
Flooding was averted in 1893 by the construction of flood defenses.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Chubut River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Chubut: Key Facts
| Length | 810 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 30 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 53,801 km² |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
| Tributaries | Tecka River, Chico River |
Facts from Wikidata Q955354 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Chubut: Quick Answers
- Where is Chubut?
- Chubut is located in Argentina, at 43.7938° S, 68.1291° W.
- Are there dams on the Chubut?
- No dam on the Chubut is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.