La Plata River (South America): description, features, photo

La Plata is the most beautiful river in South America. After the confluence of the water flows of Uruguay and Parana, the La Plata estuary was formed. The first who landed on the banks of the river was the crew of a ship of European travelers led by the navigator Juan Diaz de Solis. Initially, the researchers were looking for a stream that would be a passage between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic.

The inhabitants themselves believe that in ancient times a huge amount of gold was found on the bottom of the reservoir. The La Plata River stretched for 320 km. It has the widest estuary in the world, its size is just over 35 km. In some places, the estuary is stretched for 100 km, the peak is in place, which is located between the Cape of Antonio and Maldonato. Here, the width indicator exceeds the 200 km mark.

Description

The La Plata River is a very important water resource on the mainland. Its water is used when irrigation is needed. Every year, the importance of the river in agriculture increases.

Throughout the length of the water flow there are many shallows, so ships can enter it only through a single harbor. The La Plata river itself is very muddy, but the authorities sometimes carry out cleaning works. This is done so that ships can pass through other territories without fear of stranding.

Uniqueness of the river

One of the features of this water area is that because of the flat bottom it is called the "Silver River". For Russian speakers this aspect is viewed from a different angle. After all, this is translated from the Spanish "Rio de la Plata".

The river also has a second feature. It is the habitat of a rare species of dolphins. Besides him, there are several representatives of sea turtles in the river, there are only three of them.

The third feature of La Plata is that if you look at it from a height, for example, from an airplane, you can notice one interesting thing - at the junction of the two streams, the reservoir described becomes a funnel.

Interesting Facts

The coast is now well developed industry: enterprises for the production of machine tools, textiles and food. Also, the La Plata River is considered the most intense source of water intake in South America.

In 1939, the largest naval battle took place on this watercourse. It took place "within the framework" of the Second World War. The battle was between the British and the Germans.

Dolphins

As already mentioned, La Plata is the place of distribution of a rare species of dolphins, it is called - La Plata. Of all the animals on earth, these animals are the smallest in size. The body of an adult dolphin can reach a maximum of 1.7 meters, and weight - not more than 61 kg. In winter, the dolphin swims out of the river, migrating northward along the coast. The animal feeds on fry and shrimp. The width of the La Plata River allows the dolphin to live in the area where the most food is. He himself is a food for sharks and killer whales. To catch dolphins for personal purposes is prohibited. They do not swim alone, only in packs of 10-15 individuals. Cubs appear only once every two years. They are very secretive and timid, so it's almost impossible to watch them. In this regard, these representatives are poorly studied. Acrobatic tricks do not.

Turtles

The La Plata River (photo is in the article) is the habitat of the sea turtle loggerheads. The weight of these animals can reach 200 kg, and the length - just under 1 meter. Loggerheads can lay more than 100 eggs at a time. To date, catching turtles and collecting eggs is strictly prohibited, as this reduces the number of carretians (second name).

The green turtle is another species of marine reptiles living in La Plata. Body length - 150 cm, and weight - up to 200 kg. An interesting historical fact: a turtle was caught, the mass of which reached almost half a ton. These animals are also called soup, because their meat and eggs are very tasty. Currently, the catch of these representatives is strictly prohibited.

Another species of La-Tabura turtles is leathery. This is the largest species. Their weight reaches about a ton, and the length is almost 2.5 meters. Fishing for these turtles is also prohibited, but poachers do not stop this. There was a case when a policeman was killed for the sake of the eggs of this animal. All turtles living in La Plata are vulnerable.

Flora

The vegetation of La Plata is not very rich. The whole flora is represented mainly by marsh plants. The construction of the HPP led to deforestation. The development of the coast began long ago. Unfortunately, the intervention of technological progress has led to the destruction of many species of vegetation. At the moment there are only about 5% (from the previous number) of different colors and trees.

From agriculture, only two cereals are cultivated: wheat and maize. The other side of the river is less populated, so there are still no steppe lands developed by man.

Floods

One of the problems of La Plata is its strongest floods. In April 2013, because of the flood, many people died, many injured. This led to the destruction of houses and other structures.

Finally

Today, the coast of La Plata is actively developed and built, resulting in a huge deforestation, which is already almost gone. If this continues, vegetation and animals will disappear completely. So far the only way out is preserves, but they are unlikely to be able to cope with an environmental problem of this magnitude. The river flowing into the bay of La Plata, whose name is San Juan, allows a little to purify water and increase the number of inhabitants.