La Plata is the most beautiful river in South America. After the confluence of the water flows of Uruguay and Parana, the La Plata estuary was formed. The first to land on the banks of the river was the crew of the ship of European travelers, led by navigator Juan Diaz de Solis. Researchers initially sought a stream that would be a passage between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic.
Residents themselves believe that in ancient times a huge amount of gold was found at the bottom of the reservoir. The La Plata River stretches for 320 km. It has the widest mouth in the world, its size is slightly more than 35 km. In some places, the estuary stretches for 100 km, the peak falls on the place that is located between Cape Antonio and Maldonato. Here the width exceeds the 200 km mark.
Description
The La Plata River is a very important water resource on the mainland. Its waters are used when irrigation is necessary. Every year, the importance of the river in agriculture is increasing.
Throughout the length of the water stream there are a lot of shallows, so ships can enter it only through a single harbor. The La Plata river itself is very muddy, but authorities sometimes carry out cleaning work. This is done so that ships can pass through other territories without fear of being aground.
The uniqueness of the river
One of the features of this water area is that due to its flat bottom it is called the “Silver River”. For Russian-speaking, this aspect is considered from a different angle. Indeed, this is exactly how it is translated from the Spanish Rio de la Plata.
The river has a second feature. She is the habitat of a rare species of dolphins. In addition to him, several representatives of sea turtles are found in the river, there are only three of them.
The third feature of La Plata is that if you look at it from a height, for example from an airplane, you can notice one interesting thing - at the junction of two streams the described reservoir acquires the appearance of a funnel.
Interesting Facts
The coast is now well developed industry: enterprises for the production of machine tools, textiles and food. The La Plata River is also considered the most intense source of water withdrawal in South America.
In 1939, the largest naval battle took place on this watercourse. It took place "in the framework" of the Second World War. The battle was between the British and Germans.
Dolphins
As already mentioned, La Plata is the place of distribution of a rare species of dolphins, it is called La Plata. Of all those on earth, it is these animals that are the smallest in size. The body of an adult dolphin can reach a maximum of 1.7 meters, and weight - no more than 61 kg. In winter, the dolphin swims out of the river, migrates north along the coast. The animal eats fry and shrimp. The width of the La Plata River allows the dolphin to live in the area where the most food is. He himself acts as food for sharks and killer whales. It is forbidden to catch dolphins for personal purposes. Alone, they do not swim, only in packs of 10-15 individuals. Cubs appear only once every two years. They are distinguished by special secrecy and timidity, so it is almost impossible to observe them. In this regard, these representatives are poorly studied. Acrobatic stunts do not.
Turtles
The La Plata River (photo is in the article) is the habitat of the loggerhead sea turtle . The weight of these animals can reach 200 kg, and the length is slightly less than 1 meter. Loggerheads can lay more than 100 eggs at a time. To date, turtles and egg collection are strictly prohibited, as this reduces the number of carriage representatives (second name).
The green turtle is another species of marine reptile living in La Plata. Body length - 150 cm, and weight - up to 200 kg. An interesting historical fact: a turtle was caught, the mass of which reached almost half a ton. These animals are also called soups, as their meat and eggs are very tasty. Currently, the catch of these representatives is strictly prohibited.
Another species of La Plata turtles is leathery. This is the largest species. Their weight reaches about a ton, and their length is almost 2.5 meters. Catching these turtles is also prohibited, but this does not stop poachers. There was a case when a policeman was killed for the sake of the eggs of this animal. All turtles in La Plata are vulnerable.
Flora
La Plata vegetation is not very rich. All flora is represented mainly by marsh plants. The construction of a hydroelectric station led to deforestation. The development of the coast began a long time ago. Unfortunately, the intervention of technological progress has led to the destruction of many species of vegetation. At the moment, only about 5% (of the previous amount) of various flowers and trees remains.
From agriculture, only two cereal crops are common: wheat and corn. The other side of the river is less populated, so there are still steppe lands not developed by man.
Floods
One of the problems of La Plata is its severe floods. In April 2013, many people died due to the flood, there were many injured. This led to the destruction of residential buildings and other structures.
Finally
Today, the coast of La Plata is actively being developed and built up, as a result of which there is a huge deforestation, which is already almost gone. If this continues, the vegetation and animals will disappear completely. So far, the only way out is reserves, but they are unlikely to be able to cope with an environmental problem of this magnitude. The river, which flows into the bay of La Plata, whose name is San Juan, allows you to slightly purify the water and increase the number of inhabitants.