PARANA, pa'ra-na'. The largest river of South America after the Amazon. and one of the great rivers of the world. It is formed by the confluence of the Paranahyba and the Rio Grande in Southern Brazil at the common boundary point of the States of Matto Grosso, a ;env..., and silo Paulo (Map: South America, D 5). The Paranahyba rises on the Serra dos Vertientes and dows_sout lawe st ward on the lOOi?larV bet t‘een nas (:era es and Govaz. The Rio Grande, whiell ii the longer of the llead.treams. and inav be re garded as the true upper course of tl Parana. rise, on the Serra dal Mantiqueira in the coast Range. G0 mile, from the Atlantic I mean near Rh, de .f a ne i ro. It flows nort Invest and t wa rd to the confluence, whence the Parana proper takes a southwest course through Brazil, then south on the boundary between Brazil and Paraguay, whence it curves westward between Paraguay and Argentina until it receives it- !arrest tribu tary. the Paraguay River (q.v.). From this point the lower Parana flows southwest through Argentina as far as Rosario, where it finally turns to the southeast, and enters the Atlantic Ocean through the Plata estuary, at the bead of which it is joined by the Uruguay liver (q.v.). The total length of the Parana River from the ocean to the source of the Rio Grande is 2950 miles, and excluding the Plata 2720 miles. The length of the lower Parana from the Paraguay confluence is 850 miles, and with the Plata los° miles. The Parana is thus longer than the Mississippi proper, and the drainage area of the sa..ystem is nearly equal to that of the 31i-sissippi.
In its upper course the Parana flows over the great Brazilian plateau, and most of its upper tributaries, including the two headstreams, are obstructed by falls and rapids as they descend over the successive escarpment= of the higher plateaus. The main river it-elf has the fall of Crupupunga a short distance below the conflu ence of the headstreams. Below this point, how
ever, it is navigable for GOO miles over the level surface of the plateau as far as the boundary of Paraguay. Here it descends over the final great escarpment in the Falls of Guayra, in which the river plunges through numerous rocky cleft: with a total fall of 70 feet. From this point to within 150 miles of the Paraguay confluence the stream rushes through a deep gorge over a series of rocky shallows. and rapids. Ilere the banks are heavily forested, and most of the tributari., fall into the river by cataract:, of which the Victoria Falls of the lguassa are said to rival Niagara in height and grandeur. Below the gorge and the Paraguay confluence the river flows unobstructed through the Pampas plains. and for the last 1000 miles of its course, includ ing the Plata, is navigable at all seasons by large while transatlantic steamers go directly to 400 miles from the ocean. it is 3000 yards wide at Corrientes, near the Paraguay con fluence, and 7000 yards wide at Diamante. It reaches its greatest volume at Corrientes. and loses considerably by evaporation in its lower course, since it here receives seareely any per manent tributaries except the Salado (q.v.). Several hundred miles above the estuary it begins to divide into parallel channels, im losing a long island, and has it total width of 25 to 30 miles, while sonic of the channels are two miles wide. The delta proper begins 100 mile- from the estuary, and consists of a vast network of channels and backwaters, emptying by 14 moutl into the Plata estuary. The main channel is accessible to the largest vessels even at low water, but all the channels are eonstautly and rapidly shifting. calling for great caution in their navigation. For the description of the river below the delta, see PLATA, P.10 DE LA. The Parana was first ascended as far as the Paraguay confluence in 1526 by Sebastian Cabot.