Río de la Plata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Río de la Plata |
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| River Plate | |
 NASA photo of the Río de la Plata looking from west to east. Buenos Aires is visible on the right side near the Paraná River delta. River sediments turn the water brown to the vicinity of Montevideo, visible on the left coast.
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| Name origin: Spanish, "river of silver" | |
| Countries | Argentina, Uruguay |
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| Tributaries | |
| - left | Uruguay River, San Juan River, Santa Lucía River |
| - right | Paraná River, Luján River, Salado River |
| Cities | Buenos Aires, Montevideo |
| Source | confluence of Paraná and Uruguay Rivers |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| - coordinates | 34°0′5″S 58°23′37″W / 34.00139°S 58.39361°W |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
| - location | Argentine Sea, Argentina & Uruguay |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| - coordinates | 35°40′S 55°47′W / 35.667°S 55.783°W |
| Length | 290 km (180 mi) 4,876 km including the Paraná |
| Width | 220 km (137 mi) |
| Basin | 4,144,000 km² (1,600,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | for mouth |
| - average | 22,000 m³/s (777,000 cu ft/s) |
The Río de la Plata is a large body of water in South America. It is also known as the River Plate, especially in British English. This huge "river" is actually an estuary, which is a place where a river meets the sea. It forms where the Uruguay River and the Paraná River flow together. These two rivers also mark part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay.
The Río de la Plata is about 290 kilometers (180 miles) long. It starts out narrow, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) wide. But by the time it reaches the Atlantic Ocean, it spreads out to an amazing 220 kilometers (137 miles) wide! Two major cities are located on its shores: Buenos Aires in Argentina is on its western side, and Montevideo in Uruguay is on its northern side.
Contents
Animals Living in the Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata is home to many different kinds of animals. It is a special place for several types of sea turtles, including the loggerhead sea turtle, the green sea turtle, and the leatherback sea turtle.
One very rare animal found here is the La Plata dolphin. This dolphin is unique because it lives only in the coastal waters of southeastern South America. Many different kinds of fish also live in the waters of the Río de la Plata.
Famous Battle of the River Plate
A very important naval battle happened near the River Plate during the early days of the Second World War. This battle took place in December 1939.
German and British Ships Clash
The battle involved a powerful German warship called the Admiral Graf Spee. This ship was known as a "pocket battleship" because it had very strong guns but was smaller than a typical battleship. It was fighting against three British cruisers: HMS Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles.
The battle was fierce, and the German ship was damaged. Its fuel system was crippled, so it had to retreat up the estuary and seek safety in the port of Montevideo, Uruguay.
The Admiral Graf Spee is Scuttled
After a few days in port, the captain of the Admiral Graf Spee made a difficult decision. Instead of fighting against the British ships again, which he believed would lead to his ship's destruction and many lives lost, he decided to sink his own ship. This act is called "scuttling." The Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled in the estuary, meaning it was deliberately sunk by its own crew. This event was an early part of the larger naval conflict known as the Battle of the Atlantic.
Images for kids
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Río de la Plata in Argentina
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Satellite image of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers emptying into the Río de la Plata. Due to the relatively calm surface of the estuary and the angle of the Sun relative to the satellite, the current of the river flowing out into the Atlantic is visible.
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The city of Buenos Aires sits along the southern coast of the Río de la Plata.
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A naval battle during the Argentine-Brazilian War in 1827, which also took place on the Río de la Plata.
See also
In Spanish: Río de la Plata para niños
