Río de la Plata: from Pleistocene to the Present

ORFEO, O.; BEST, J.; PARSONS, D.; IRIONDO, M.; LUTZ, A.; ZURITA, A.

Field Excursion Guidebook, 18th International Sedimentological Congress

Intenational Association of Sedimentologists

Lugar: Mendoza, Argentina; Año: 2010; p. 1 - 41

Abstract             The La Plata River is a major continental scale system that covers over 3 million square kilometers and consists of three major tributaries. Between them, the Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers dominate current water resources in southern South America and have left vast and significant sedimentary deposits. This five-day excursion offers a general overview of these huge fluvial systems, fostering discussion of their geological evolution, past and present sedimentary deposits, an exploration of the current morpho-dynamics, and insight on human-induced changes on system function and regulation that will include a visit to the large hydroelectric dam at Yacyretá.                         The field-trip will highlight a number of important sites on the main channel of the Paraná beginning in Corrientes and ending in the Posadas City. The trip will incorporate a full day on the Paraná at Paso de la Patria, and will include a visit by boat to a large mid-channel bar and the Paraná-Paraguay confluence, where the river changes drastically in terms of its sediment discharge. A day will also be spent visiting Quaternary outcrops of the Uruguay River.