The Saladillo Stream (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, Arroyo Saladillo or Río Saladillo) is a small

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

, that discharges into it between the cities of

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

and Villa Gobernador Gálvez, in the . It serves as the political border between these two towns of the

Greater Rosario Greater Rosario is the metropolitan area of the city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. This metropolis has a population of about 1.3 million (1,455,668 million inhabitants) thus being Argentina's third most populated urban s ...

area, and is one of the two important affluents of the Paraná in the area, together with the

Ludueña Stream The Ludueña Stream (in Spanish, Arroyo Ludueña) is a small river (about long including its tributaries) in the , which starts near the city of Rosario and flows through it, mostly east-southwards, ending in the Paraná River in the neighbourhoo ...

in the north. Although in Spanish the Saladillo is called an ''arroyo'', it is not an arroyo in the English sense of a dry or intermittent stream. The Spanish word ''arroyo'' means "stream" or "brook", but the Saladillo is a sizable

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

with a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which 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, ...

encompassing . Río Saladillo is a variant name in Spanish. Its water services an important area in the southern part of Santa Fe province—both economically for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, and demographically, since its last few kilometres flow through inside a densely populated area (Rosario has over a million residents). The port of Villa Gobernador Gálvez is located on the mouth of the Saladillo. Most of the Saladillo is

canalized River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and b ...

, and parts are channelized, as are its main tributaries. It requires periodic

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

to support its massive use for agriculture, which in turn degrades the

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

with

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effect, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...

s such as

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

s and

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

s, and tends to fill the river with

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

s produced by

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

. The Saladillo's

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripari ...

is subject to

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing. The lower course is an

urban stream An urban stream is a formerly natural River, waterway that flows through a Urban area, heavily populated area. Often times, urban streams are low-lying points in the landscape that characterize catchment urbanization. Urban streams are often Water ...

, and is polluted by industrial and domestic waste.

References

{{Reflist * N. R. Biasatti, M. C. Romano, E. F. Pire, E. N. Micol, C. Diaz, & A. Fragapane. ''Evaluacion Ambiental Del Arroyo Saladillo Y Su Cuenca, Santa Fe, Argentina - Un Caso De Estudio Abordado Desde La Óptica De La Ecología Del Paisaje.'' Retrieved from http://www.brocku.ca/epi/lebk/ecosur.html on 15:32, 16 September 2005 (UTC) (in Spanish). Rosario, Santa Fe Rivers of Argentina Tributaries of the Paraná River Rivers of Santa Fe Province

See also

References