Geography of Río de la Plata

Some geographers consider the Rio de la Plata one. Marginal Gulf or the ocean from the Atlantic Ocean, while others consider it a river of those who see it as a river, is the world's largest, with a maximum width of about 220 km (140 miles) and a surface total of some 35,000 square kilometers (14,000 square miles).

Río de la Plata estuary behaves like, where fresh and salt water mix. The fresh water comes from the Paraná River, one of the world's longest, and its main tributary, the Paraguay River and the Uruguay River and other small waterways. Flows of the Río de la Plata is controlled by the flow of the tide of its source, and then, as part of the rivers Uruguay and Parana. Both rivers are affected by tides about 190 km (120 miles). Tidal ranges from the Rio de la Plata are small, but its width allows a large tidal prism important enough to manage the flow of the system despite a huge download received from tributaries. Drain into the rivers is strong enough to prevent saline water inside the Río de la Plata.

A shoal submerged, the Barra del Indio, acts as a barrier dividing the Río de la Plata in fresh water rivers in the area and only an outer zone of the delta of brackish water. The bench is about between Montevideo and Punta Piedras (the north-west of the bay Samborombón). Fresh water from the inner area which led many to describe the Río de la Plata as a river.  the depth of the inner river zone is between about 1 to 5 feet (3.3 to 16 m). It is about 180 km (110 miles) long and up to 80 km (50 mi) wide. The depth of the outer zone of the estuary increases from 5 to 25 meters (16-82 feet).

Rio de la Plata estuary is a salt wedge. Saline, which is heavier than fresh water enters the estuary in a layer under the fresh water floating on the surface. The fronts of salinity or Halocline form the bottom and the surface, where fresh water and brackish water meet. Salinity fronts pycnoclines are also due to discontinuities in density of water. They play an important role in the process of reproduction of fish.

Posted in: Río de la Plata