Pilcomayo (in Hispanicized spelling) (

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

Pillkumayu or Pillku Mayu, ''pillku'' red, ''mayu'' river, "red river", Guarani Ysyry Araguay ) is a river in central

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. At long, it is the longest western tributary of the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters i ...

. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

is in area, and its mean discharge is . Along its course, the Pilcomayo silts up and splits into two main branches, North and South. After some distance, these branches rejoin to form the Lower Pilcomayo. The Pilcomayo rises in the foothills of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

mountain range in the

Oruro Department Oruro (; Quechua: ''Uru Uru''; Aymara: ''Ururu'') is a department of Bolivia, with an area of . Its capital is the city of Oruro. According to the 2012 census, the Oruro department had a population of 494,178. Provinces of Oruro The departme ...

in Bolivia, east of Lake Poopó. The Jach'a Juqhu River is considered the origin of the Pilcomayo. Upstream the Jach'a Juqhu River successively receives the names Aguas Calientes and Kachi Mayu. From the confluence with the Chillawa ''(Chillahua)'', the river is called Pilcomayo.Santiago de Huari Municipality:
population data and map showing Jach'a Juqhu River From there, it flows in a southeasterly direction through Chuquisaca and

Tarija Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is the largest city and capital and municipality within the Tarija Department, with an airport ( Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport, (TJA)) off ...

departments, passes through the Argentine province of Formosa and the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato ...

plains of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, forming most of the border between these two countries before it joins the ''Paraguay River'' near

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay o ...

. The Río Pilcomayo National Park is located on the Argentine side of the border. It also forms a short part of the boundary between Argentina and Bolivia, just prior to the

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

– Bolivia–

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

Human settlement

The river basin is home to approximately 1.5 million people: one million in Bolivia, 300,000 in Argentina, and 200,000 in Paraguay. The Nakotoi Indian Tribe resides in the southern region of the Pilcomayo, a region located along the river in central Paraguay.Kerr, p. 116 The aborigines of this tribe are descendants of the highly renowned Redskin Tribe. The Natokoi treated all neighbors as enemies, but none more so than the Tobas Tribe and the Nimká Tribe, their respective neighbors to the southwest and northeast. Guerrilla warfare has long existed between the tribes, isolating the tribe from direct intercourse with the European settlers in the late 19th century. Men of this tribe are generally tall and skinny, built like hunters or warriors, whereas women are short in size.Kerr, p. 117 The Natokoi dress in a rug, fastened around the waist-line.

Gallery

File:A._Fiskare_gå_över_Pilcomayo._Rio_Pilcomayo,_Bolivianska_Chaco._Rio_Pilcomayo,_El_Gran_Chaco_-_SMVK_-_004711.tif, Local fishermen with fishing nets crossing Rio Pilcomayo 1908. File:In_Bolívia.jpg, Pilcomayo River as seen through

Tarija Department Tarija () is a department in Bolivia. It is located in south-eastern Bolivia bordering with Argentina to the south and Paraguay to the east. According to the 2012 census, it has a population of 482,196 inhabitants. It has an area of . The city ...

, Bolivia. File:Pilcomayorivermap.png, Pilcomayo River highlighted within the Paraná River drainage basin. File:Puente_San_Ignacio_de_Loyola.jpg, San Ignacio Bridge over Pilcomayo River, between Clorinda and José Falcon ( AR)-( PY)

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

. File:20170807_Bolivia_1322_sRGB_(37949270772).jpg, A 19th century-built

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

over the Pilcomayo River as seen at Bolivia's Route 5, between Sucre and Potosí, Southern Bolivia. File:Valle_Pilcomayo.jpg, Pilcomayo Valley, near

Villamontes Villamontes (or: ''Villa Montes'') is a town in the Tarija Department in south-eastern Bolivia. Also it is called the benemerita town (well-deserving of the mother country) due to its importance during the Chaco War in the 1930s. Location ''Vi ...

, Bolivia. File:Pilcomayo_al_Sur_desde_el_puente_San_Ignacio.jpg, Pilcomayo River, near

References

Sources

*Kerr, Graham. A Naturalist in the Gran Chaco. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1950. *Pilcomayo River. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/460371/Pilcomayo-River *W. H. Strosnider, F. Llanos, R.W. Nairn
''LEGACY OF NEARLY 500 YEARS OF MINING IN POTOSÍ, BOLIVIA: STREAM WATER QUALITY''
(pdf) - conference paper at the ''2008 National Meeting of the American Society of Mining and Reclamation. New Opportunities to Apply Our Science'', June 14–19, Richmond, VA. {{coord, 25, 21, S, 57, 40, W, type:river_region:AR_dim:5km, display=title Rivers of Paraguay Rivers of Argentina Rivers of Formosa Province Argentina–Paraguay border Argentina–Bolivia border International rivers of South America Rivers of Chuquisaca Department Rivers of Oruro Department Rivers of Potosí Department Rivers of Tarija Department Rivers of Salta Province Tributaries of the Paraguay River Border rivers Ramsar sites in Argentina

Human settlement

Gallery

See also

References

Sources