Qualla: Paranaíba River

Paranaíba River: Introduction

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit MarcosM, CC BY-SA 4.0. Stand on a 1,148-meter ridge in the Mata da Corda mountains of Minas Gerais, and you can pour out a bottle of water that will, depending on which side of the ridge you choose, end up in the Amazon basin or the Rio de la Plata. The Paranaiba begins here. So does the Abaete, its counterpart tributary to the São Francisco River. The two rise within walking distance on opposite flanks of the same mountain chain. A thousand kilometers downstream, the Paranaiba meets the Rio Grande at a triple border point between São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Mato Grosso do Sul, and the Paraná River is born. The Paranaiba is the Paraná's most important source, and its own story is told in three parts: the high, the middle, and the low.

Read more: Paranaíba River on Qualla

Image: MarcosM | CC BY-SA 4.0

Paranaíba River: Headwaters and Diamonds

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andrevruas, CC BY 3.0. The Paranaiba flows north out of the Mata da Corda serra at an average elevation of 760 meters. For its first 370 kilometers, it crosses an underpopulated stretch of Minas Gerais, passing through the town of Patos de Minas at 770 meters. The slope is gentle, about 25 centimeters ...

Read more: Paranaíba River on Qualla

Image: Andrevruas | CC BY 3.0

Paranaíba River: Three Dams and a Lost Canyon

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andrevruas, CC BY 3.0. The lower Paranaiba is a chain of reservoirs. Three major dams punctuate its course, all generating electricity for the southeast's industrial heart. The Itumbiara Dam, in operation since 1981 at Aporao, generates 2,082 megawatts and ranks as the most powerful in the Furnas hydro...

Read more: Paranaíba River on Qualla

Image: Andrevruas | CC BY 3.0

Paranaíba River: The Tributary System

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kmusser, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Paranaiba gathers water from a dense network of tributaries. The São Marcos enters at kilometer 661 from the right bank. The Perdizes comes in at kilometer 633 from the left. The Bagagem enters at 596. Below that stretch, the Verissimo, the Corumba, the Santa Maria, the Jorda...

Read more: Paranaíba River on Qualla

Image: Kmusser | CC BY-SA 3.0

Paranaíba River: Navigation and Pollution

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Henrique Morize (-1930), Public domain. The Paranaiba is navigable only for 180 kilometers, in the artificial lake of Ilha Solteira, as far as the São Simão Dam. Beyond those limits, the dams block passage and the natural rapids defeat shipping. There have been proposals to extend navigability deeper into central Brazi...

Read more: Paranaíba River on Qualla

Image: Henrique Morize (-1930) | Public domain