Paraguay - Geography
Almost as large as California, Paraguay it ranks ninth among the Latin American republics in size. Paraguay is a fertile land of lush and natural beauty in the central region of the continent of South America. It is located between the countries of Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia. Due to its central location, the country has commonly been referred to as the “Corazon de America” (i.e., Heart of America). The name “Paraguay” is said to have originated from a word the Indians used to describe a “river that gives birth to the sea.” The country is beautiful in cultural, natural and historical contexts.
Much of the northwestern part of the country is barren and uninhabited, and the Goverment has difficulties in enforcing the law due to geography and the political power some drug traffickers wield. Rivers have greatly influenced the character of the country. The Paraguay and Paraná rivers and their tributaries define most of the country’s borders, provide all its drainage, and serve as transportation routes.
The two main natural regions in Paraguay are the Paranena region — a mixture of plateaus, rolling hills, and valleys—and the Chaco region — an immense piedmont plain. About 95 percent of Paraguay's population resides in the Paranena region, which has all the significant orographic features and the more predictable climate. The Paranena region can be generally described as consisting of an area of highlands in the east that slopes toward the Rio Paraguay and becomes an area of lowlands, subject to floods, along the river. The Chaco is predominantly lowlands, also inclined toward the Rio Paraguay, that are alternately flooded and parched.
The Gran Chaco region, the western portion of the country, is largely arid, flat, and unsuitable for agriculture. The extreme northwestern region is mostly desert. It covers 246,827 square kilometers (95,300 square miles), nearly two-thirds of Paraguay’s total land area. Apart from a few settlements, the region is sparsely populated. A lack of roads and navigable rivers makes much of this region inaccessible.
The Paranena region extends from the Rio Paraguay eastward to the Rio Parana, which forms the border with Brazil and Argentina. The eastern hills and mountains, an extension of a plateau in southern Brazil, dominate the region, whose highest point is about 700 meters above sea level. The Paranena region also has spacious plains, broad valleys, and lowlands. About 80 percent of the region is below 300 meters in elevation; the lowest elevation, 55 meters, is found in the extreme south at the confluence of the Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana.
The Paranena region is drained primarily by rivers that flow westward to the Rio Paraguay, although some rivers flow eastward to the Rio Parana. Low-lying meadows, subject to floods, separate the eastern mountains from the Rio Paraguay. The Paranena region as a whole naturally divides into five physiographic subregions: the Parana Plateau, the Northern Upland, the Central Hill Belt, the Central Lowland, and the Neembucu Plain. In the east, the heavily wooded Parana Plateau occupies onethird of the region and extends its full length from north to south and up to 145 kilometers westward from the Brazilian and Argentine borders. The Parana Plateau's western edge is defined by an escarpment that descends from an elevation of about 460 meters in the north to about 180 meters at the subregion's southern extremity. The plateau slopes moderately to east and south, its remarkably uniform surface interrupted only by the narrow valleys carved by the westward-flowing tributaries of the Rio Parana.
One of South America’s major rivers is the Paraguay River. It covers a distance of 2,600 kilometers (1,612 miles) from its head waters in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso to its confluence with the Paraná River north of Corrientes. The Paraguay River has not been dammed for hydroelectric power generation, unlike many of the other rivers of the Paraná Basin. This makes the river navigable for a considerable distance. The winding course and shifting sandbars make the transit down this river difficult at times, however, during most years, vessels with 21-meter drafts can reach Concepcion without difficulty and medium-sized ocean vessels can sometimes reach Asunción. The river is a significant shipping and trade corridor, providing a much needed link to the Atlantic Ocean for this otherwise land locked country.
The second major river in the country is the Paraná River. It is 4,700 kilometers (2,921 miles) long and is part of a river system that reaches to Brasilia, Brazil. The river enters Paraguay at Salto del Guaira and forms the country’s southeastern and southern borders with Brazil and Argentina. Most of the river is navigable and is a primary waterway linking inland cities to the ocean, providing deep water ports in many of the cities. Massive hydroelectric dams along the rivers block its use as a shipping corridor to cities further upstream, but the economic impact of those dams is considered to offset this. The Paraná and its tributaries are a source of income and daily sustenance for fishermen who live along its banks.
The third largest river is the Pilcomayo. It begins in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, between the southwestern Bolivian departments of Oruro and Potosi, and flows south through Chuquisaca and Tarija departments, passing through the Argentine province of Formosa, and into the Paraguay River near Asunción. Although travelling on the river is sluggish, as it is generally filled with silt, small craft can navigate on its waters. When the river floods it feeds the Estero Patino (the nation’s largest swamp, located in the lower Chaco).
The Paraguay River separates the country into two distinct topographic regions. To the east is the subtropical Paraneña region, which makes up about 40 percent of the country’s territory and is home to most of Paraguay’s population. The Paraneña covers 159,800 square kilometers (61,700 square miles). It has rolling farmland; grasslands; forests; and patches of jungle near the border with Brazil. The Paraná plateau, part of the Paraneña region, receives more rainfall than any other area of the country.
Paraguay has only modest mountain ranges, located in the southeast. The highest, Cerro Pero, has an elevation of 842 meters (2,762 feet).
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