| Description |
The Rio Uruguay forms the Plate watershed along with the Paraná and Paraguay rivers. It is about 2262 km long and runs from the Serra Geral Mountains as the Rio Pelotas, and down from the confluence with the Canoas as the Rio Uruguay. Inland, it runs along the border of Santa Catarina and the Rio Granse do Sul states toward the mouth of the Rio Pepirí. From the confluence with Guazu, it veers southwards as the border of Argentina with Brazil and Uruguay. It joins with the Rio Paraná at the mouth where it forms the Río de la Plata estuary and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Ref. 74689).
The Rio Uruguay is divided into the Lower, Middle and Upper sections by a series of pools and rapids. The border between Middle and Lower Uruguay is formed by the Salto Grande Falls while the border between Middle and Upper Uruguay is at the rapids formed by the Yucumã (or Moconá) Falls, below the mouth of the Rio Pepirí Guazú (Zaniboni Filho & Schulz, 2003, cited in Ref. 74689). |