Paraná

River in South America; length 4,500 km/2,800 mi. It is formed by the confluence of the Río Grande and Paranaiba, both of which rise in southeast Brazil; the Paraguay River joins it at Corrientes in Argentina. It then flows generally southwards into the Río de la Plata estuary; length 4,500 km/2,800 mi. The river's lower course is navigable for large vessels for 1,600 km/994 mi; its upper course is interrupted by numerous cataracts and rapids. It is used for hydroelectric power by Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The Itaipu Dam, near the Brazilian border with Paraguay, is the largest hydroelectric plant in the world.

The dam has 18 700,000 kW generators and was constructed at a cost of US $25 billion. 40,000 families were relocated with the creation of a 1,350 sq km/520 sq mi reservoir. The construction of the dam also drowned the Guairá falls 190 km/118 mi upstream.

Paraná

Industrial port and capital of Entre Ríos department, eastern Argentina; situated on the east bank of the Paraná River, 560 km/350 mi northwest of Buenos Aires; population (1991) 276,000. It is an outlet for cattle, sheep, fruit, and grain, produced in the surrounding region, and there are food processing industries.

Paraná was founded in 1588 and was capital of Argentina 1853–62. There is a cathedral, built in 1883. The Parque Urquiza contains a statue of General Justo José de Urquiza, former president of Argentina and governor of Entre Ríos.

Paraná

Maritime state of southern Brazil, bordered in the west by Paraguay and in the east by the Atlantic Ocean; area 199,555 sq km/77,048 sq mi; population (1996) 9,003,804. The capital is Curitiba. Other significant towns are Paranaguá, its port, Londrina, Ponta Grossa, Lapa, and Jacaresinho. Although livestock is raised on a large scale, the state's main agricultural activity is the cultivation of crops, among which are coffee (Paraná is the country's main producer), wheat, cotton, soya, potatoes, rye, rice, maize, flax, tobacco, tung oil, and tropical and other fruit.

This region is one of the main forest areas of Brazil, being famous for its Paraná pine, and timber constitutes one of its main industries. It is also the country's leading producer of yerba maté (‘Paraguay tea’).

Apart from the coastal strip, which is cut off from the rest of the state by the Serra do Mar mountains, Paraná forms part of the great Brazilian plateau, with the River Paraná marking its northwestern and western borders. The climate is subtropical, with hot summers, warm winters, and adequate, well-distributed rainfall. The state was settled by immigrants from Italy and eastern Europe, and this has had an impact on farming methods and choice of crop. Mineral resources are negligible or unexploited, except for coal (Paraná is one of the few Brazilian states where coal is mined).

The Iguaçu Falls are in the far southwest of the state, on the border with Argentina. In the west, on the River Paraná, were the Sete Quedas waterfalls. These were submerged in 1982 by the infilling of the lake behind the enormous Itaipu dam.