The Teles Pires () is a long river in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The river flows through the state of

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

and its lower part marks the border between the states of Mato Grosso and

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

. At its mouth it joins

Juruena River The Juruena River () is a long river in west-central Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso. Course The Juruena originates in the Parecis plateau. Within Mato Grosso the river defines the eastern boundary of the Igarapés do Juruena State Park, ...

and together they form the

Tapajós The Tapajós ( ) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon Rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately long. Prior to a drastic increase in illegal gold mi ...

, which is one of the biggest tributaries of the Amazon River. The most important settlement along the river is Alta Floresta. One writer says that it was originally called the Paranatinga, and was renamed after Captain Telles Pires who died exploring the river in 1889. Several dams are planned on the river in the "Hidrovia Tapajos/Teles Pires" project to create a navigable waterway connecting the interior of Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. The waterway will consist of five dams on the Teles Pires river ( Magessi Dam, Sinop Dam, Colíder Dam, Teles Pires Dam, Sao Manoel Dam) and the Foz do Apiacas Dam on the Apiacas river. The Colíder Dam and the Teles Pires Dam are currently under construction, while the smaller upstream dams are still in the planning stages.

References

External links

Teles Pires in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English (bartleby.com)
(outdated length)
''Hidrovia Tapajos - Teles Pires'' - Regierungsdokument (portuguese)
Rivers of Mato Grosso Rivers of Pará {{Pará-river-stub