Chubut River

Rio Chubut in Rawson

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The Río Chubut (Welsh Afon Camwy ) is a 800 km long river in the southern Argentinean Patagonia landscape.

Its name comes from the word Chupat, which is " transparent " or "clear" means as much as in the language tehuelche.

The river flows through the province of Chubut, before flowing after 800 km at Rawson in the Atlantic Ocean. The main source of the river Chubut rises in the Andes Carreras in the province of Río Negro, but its catchment area covers a large part of the western Andean foothills between Bariloche and Esquel. The main tributary at the headwaters of the Río Chico is coming from the area of San Carlos de Bariloche. The various tributaries unite before the small town of Piedra Parada, where the river enters the flat plain, which is typical of the Argentine Patagonia. The Chubut flows east to the Paso del Sapo, where it turns southeast and by now flows through to the very sparsely populated center of the province of Chubut. Behind Paso de Indios meets the river on the highway 25 ( Esquel - Trelew ) and now runs back towards the east.

About 120 km before the Trelew Chubut River was dammed. The dam was planned and directed by Antonio Domingo Pronsato and completed on April 19, 1963 ( 43 ° 41 '59 "S, 66 ° 29 ' 0 " W - 43.699719 - 66.483333 ). Reservoir and dam were named after the scientist Florentino Ameghino. The 255 m long dam is made ​​of concrete and the lake today covers 70 km ². The power plant uses a 56 foot man-made waterfall with a flow rate of 150 m³ / s and three turbines. It supplies the cities of Pico Truncado, Caleta Olivia, Comodoro Rivadavia and the entire lower valley of the Río Chubut with energy.

In the reservoir ( Embalse Florentino Ameghino ) of the Río Chico, which is in the lower reaches of the main tributary of the Chubut opens. He is not to be confused with the Río Chico that flow to the Chubut in its headwaters.

The Río Chubut is mostly flat and its water flow varies along the upper reaches between 4 m³ / s in the dry season and 30 m³ / s at high water. These differences and the regular floods make the land on its banks to fertile growing regions, especially for fruit. The river is a popular destination for trout anglers, but a license is required for it.

In the 19th century Welsh emigrants arrived in Chubut and founded in the valley of the Río Chubut Welsh settlements, the so-called Colonias Galesas. Today the Welsh language and Welsh tea houses are typical of several cities in the region, many of whom have also Welsh names, such as Dolavon and Trelew.

Swell

• Christabelle Dilks, Janak Jani: Footprint Patagonia. Footprint Travel Guides, 2007 ISBN 9781906098001, S.124ff
• Chubut. In Meyers Great Conversation Lexicon, Volume 4 Leipzig 1906, p 139