Paranaíba River
The Paranaíba River is in Brazil. It starts in Minas Gerais, in the Mata da Corda mountains, at about 1,148 meters above sea level. It runs for about 1,000 kilometers across Minas Gerais and Goiás until it joins the Grande River to form the Paraná River at a border point between São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Mato Grosso do Sul.
Its main tributaries include the São Marcos, Corumbá, Meia Ponte, and Bois rivers. The river has several important hydroelectric dams, such as Emborcação, Itumbiara, São Simão, and the Dourada (Cachoeira Dourada) plant near Itumbiara, which provides power to Goiânia and Brasília.
The Paranaíba is navigable only in the Ilha Solteira reservoir for about 180 kilometers up to the São Simão dam. It faces serious environmental issues, including erosion from sand extraction and deforestation, and pollution from sewage in many towns, including Goiânia, which dumps untreated waste into the Meia Ponte River and then into the Paranaíba. One major ecological loss happened when the São Simão Channel was flooded to create a large reservoir behind the dam.
The Paranaíba is an important source of the Paraná River and a key site for hydroelectric power in Brazil.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 22:17 (CET).