Paraná
Paraná is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. 2 dams stand on this watercourse and are written up below. 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
- Dams Recorded
- 2
- Coordinates
- -23.92°, -57.34°
About Paraná
The Paraná River (Portuguese: Rio Paraná [ˈʁi.u paɾɐˈna] ; Spanish: Río Paraná [ˈri.o paɾaˈna] ; Guarani: Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some 4,880 kilometres (3,030 mi). Among South American rivers, it is second in length only to the Amazon River. It merges with the Paraguay River and then farther downstream with the Uruguay River to form the Río de la Plata and empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
The first European to go up the Paraná River was the Venetian explorer Sebastian Cabot, in 1526, while working for Spain.
A drought hit the river in 2021, causing a 77-year low.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Paraná River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Paraná in Depth
Course
The course is formed at the confluence of the Paranaiba and Rio Grande rivers in southern Brazil. From the confluence the river flows in a generally southwestern direction for about 619 km (385 mi) before encountering the city of Saltos del Guaira, Paraguay. This was once the location of the Guaíra Falls (Sete Quedas waterfalls, where the Paraná fell over a series of seven cascades. This natural feature was said to rival the world-famous Iguazu Falls to the south. The falls were flooded, however, by the construction of the Itaipu Dam, which began operating in 1984. For approximately the next 200 km (120 mi), the Paraná flows southward and forms a natural boundary between Paraguay and Brazil until the confluence with the Iguazu River.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Paraná River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Paraná: Key Facts
| Length | 4,880 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 16,000 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 2,582,672 km² |
| Source | Grande River |
| Mouth | Río de la Plata |
| Drainage system | Río de la Plata Basin |
| Tributaries | Tietê River, Paraguay River, Salado River, Grande River, Iguazu River, Paranapanema River, Paranaíba River, Corriente River |
Facts from Wikidata Q127892 (CC0).
Dams on the Paraná
2 dams on the Paraná, ordered by structural height, with their reservoirs and generating capacity.
| Dam | Height | Capacity | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Itaipu Dam | 196 m | 14,000 MW | 1984 |
| Yacyretá Dam | 21 m | 3,200 MW | 1998 |
Itaipu Dam
Hollow Gravity dam · Brazil / Paraguay
Itaipu Dam is a hollow gravity dam on the Paraná in Brazil / Paraguay, standing 196 m (643 ft) high and completed in 1984. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 14,000 MW. The structure impounds Itaipu Reservoir, about 2,418 km² on the map.
The Itaipu Dam (Guarani: Yjoko Itaipu [itajˈpu]; Portuguese: Barragem de Itaipu [itajˈpu]; Spanish: Represa de Itaipú [itajˈpu]) is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It is the third-largest hydroelectric dam in the world in terms of produced energy.
The name "Itaipu" is from an island that near the construction site, named in the Guarani language after the concept of a "sounding stone." As of 2020, the Itaipu Dam's hydroelectric power plant produced the second-largest amount of electricity of any hydroelectric power plant in the world, only surpassed by the Three Gorges Dam plant in China. Itaipu also holds the 45th largest reservoir in the world.
Following a 1973 treaty, Brazil and Paraguay started construction of the dam from 1970 to 1984, at the border between the two countries, 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the Friendship Bridge. The construction of the damn displaced 10,000 families, and flooded the Guaíra Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the world.
The project ranges from Foz do Iguaçu, in Brazil, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, in the south to Guaíra and Salto del Guairá in the north.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Itaipu Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Hollow Gravity
- Structural height
- 196 m (643 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 14,000 MW
- Impounded river
- Paraná
- Reservoir
- Itaipu Reservoir
- Location
- Brazil / Paraguay
- Year completed
- 1984
- Height rank
- #17 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #3 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- -25.4089°, -54.5889°
Notable: Supplies ~75% of Paraguay's and ~10% of Brazil's total national electricity.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Itaipu Dam ranks #17 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #3, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
The Reservoir: Represa Itaipu
Represa Itaipu is the water body held back by Itaipu Dam, with a mapped surface of about 2,418 km², impounded in 1984. The area is computed from the mapped outline and is approximate.
Nearest cities: Ciudad del Este (12 km), Foz do Iguaçu (14 km), Cascavel (124 km).
More about Itaipu Dam
History
The concept behind the Itaipu Power Plant was the result of serious negotiations between the two countries during the 1960s. The "Ata do Iguaçu" (Iguaçu Act) was signed on July 22, 1966, by the Brazilian and Paraguayan Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Juracy Magalhães and Raúl Sapena Pastor. This was a joint declaration of the mutual interest in studying the exploitation of the hydro resources that the two countries shared in the section of the Paraná River starting from and including the Salto de Sete Quedas, to the Iguaçu River watershed. The treaty that gave origin to the power plant was signed in 1973.
The terms of the treaty, which expired in 2023, have been the subject of widespread discontent in Paraguay.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Itaipu Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Itaipu Dam: Key Facts
| Crest length | 7,700 m |
|---|---|
| Officially opened | 7 November 1982 |
Facts from Wikidata Q244169 (CC0).
Yacyretá Dam
Embankment / Gravity dam · Argentina / Paraguay
Yacyretá Dam is an embankment / gravity dam on the Paraná in Argentina / Paraguay, standing 21 m (69 ft) high and completed in 1998. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 3,200 MW. The structure impounds Yacyretá Reservoir.
The Yacyretá Dam or Jasyretâ-Apipé Hydroelectric Power Station (from Guaraní jasy retã, "land of the moon") is a dam and hydroelectric power plant built over the waterfalls of Jasyretâ-Apipé in the Paraná River, between the Paraguayan City of Ayolas and the Argentine Province of Corrientes. The dam is named for Yacyretá Island just upstream, much of which the dam submerged. The word "Yacyreta" is the Hispanicized spelling of the original Guaraní term Jasyretâ.
The dam is 808 metres (2,651 ft) long, and its installed equipment has a maximum power output of 3,100 megawatts (4,200,000 hp), with a record maximum annual power output of 20.091 TWh (72.33 PJ) achieved in year 2012, and a maximum water flow rate of 55,000 cubic meters per second. Until February 2011, its reservoir was seven meters below its planned water level, only allowing it to operate at 60% capacity.
The project generated controversy and criticism during its planning and construction because of the effects it had on local ecology, particularly the flooding of a unique environment causing the extinction in the wild of several species.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Yacyretá Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Embankment / Gravity
- Structural height
- 21 m (69 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 3,200 MW
- Impounded river
- Paraná
- Reservoir
- Yacyretá Reservoir
- Location
- Argentina / Paraguay
- Year completed
- 1998
- Height rank
- #111 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #19 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- -27.4817°, -56.7383°
Notable: Spans 67 km across the Paraná River; landmark binational cooperative energy project in South America.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Yacyretá Dam ranks #111 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #19, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
Nearest cities: Posadas (85 km), Encarnación (87 km), São Borja (149 km).
More about Yacyretá Dam
Construction
In addition to the dam, a barrage of materials 65 kilometres (40 mi) long closes both arms of the river divided by the island Jasyretâ; the hydroelectric dam is in part located over this. Both extremes are settled in the Argentine coast, in the locality of Rincón Santa María and in the Paraguayan coast, near the city of San Cosme y Damián. The artificial lake formed by the dam rises 21 metres (69 ft) above the original level and covers 1,600 square kilometres (620 sq mi).
Each branch has a slope. The turbines are in the main branch, in a slope with eighteen gates that allow a maximum flow of 55,000 cubic meters per second. The other branch of the river has sixteen more gates with a capacity for another 40,000 cubic meters per second.
Geography
Yacyretá is located 260 kilometres (160 mi) southeast of Asunción. It is located in the region of a city called Ayolas, 100 kilometres (62 mi) downstream from Encarnación and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) away from the rapids of Apipé. The main dam is near the islands of Jasyretâ and Talavera.
Tourism
The area has an abundant fauna and there are areas for fishing. Fishing is regulated to protect and maintain fish populations, requiring fishing permits that can be obtained in the regional Office of Fishing.
The Yacyreta Regional Museum is located in Ayolas. It exhibits archaeological objects, minerals and examples of specimens of the native fauna.
The Animal Refuge of Atinguy is located 18 kilometres from Ayolas; its territory is roughly 100 hectares, where a great variety of flora and fauna of the region can be found.
The refuge provides conditions for the animals to live in a natural environment.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Yacyretá Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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
Paraná: Quick Answers
- Where is Paraná?
- Paraná is located in Brazil and Argentina and Paraguay, at 23.9232° S, 57.3438° W.
- Are there dams on the Paraná?
- Yes. YearMaps records 2 dams on the Paraná: Itaipu Dam, Yacyretá Dam.
- What is the tallest dam on the Paraná?
- Itaipu Dam is the tallest dam recorded on the Paraná, at 196 m (643 ft), completed in 1984.
- Which dam on the Paraná generates the most electricity?
- Itaipu Dam has the largest installed hydroelectric capacity on the Paraná: 14,000 MW. Installed capacity is the maximum rated output, not the annual average.