Carcaraña River

The Carcarañá River is an Argentine watercourse that originates in the province of Córdoba at the confluence of the Tercero or Ctalamochita rivers (of which it is a direct continuation) and Saladillo (name of the lower course of the Fourth quarter).

Tour

It enters the province of Santa Fe, which crosses its central-austral sector (town of Arteaga), ending in the town of Gaboto in the Coronda River, which in turn ends in the great Paraná River near Timbúes..

It runs largely through the sector called “undulated pampas”, which is why there are ravines up to 20 m high on its banks. Much of its bed is made up of rough rock, which in certain points causes small jumps – seen especially when the river is low – that are easily crossed by boats. Its route is 240 km, all of which can be navigated by medium-draft vessels, but this waterway is still underexploited despite covering one of the richest territories on the planet in the production of cereals, dairy products and legumes.

Cuenca

Its basin is approximately 48,000 km² and its main tributaries are the Tortugas and Cañada de Gómez streams (which it receives on the left bank) and the Cañada Santa Lucía stream (on the right).

It has hydroelectric potential, taking advantage of the driving force with dedications, at the level of Lucio V. López, since the end of the 19th century until the 1930s. The work was by the pioneer brothers Cayetano and Roque Blotta Rímolo (uncles of the Rosario sculptor Erminio Blotta), who came from Morano Cálabro (Italy). Another hydroelectric dam is located near the city of Carcarañá, used by the Juan Semino Mill. In that city the river, after crossing the train bridge, reaches the famous Palandri Pool that was built by Carlos Palandri. Its current owner is Guillermo Danibale. His father Elio built, next to the river, a large structure to enjoy the sunsets next to the river.

Cities

In 1527, near its mouth in the Paraná, the expedition under the command of Sebastián Gaboto founded the first European settlement in the current Argentine territory; such an establishment was the Spanish fort of Sancti Spiritu. Between 1716 and 1767 the Jesuit Estancia of San Miguel del Carcarañal was located on its right bank, in front of the current town of Pueblo Andino.

On the banks of the river, or in its vicinity, are the Córdoba cities and towns of Inriville, Los Surgentes and Cruz Alta, and the Santa Fe towns of Arteaga, San José de la Esquina, Los Nogales, Arequito, Los Molinos, Casilda, Caracarañá, Correa, Lucio V. López (Santa Fe), Pueblo Andino, Oliveros, Timbúes and Puerto Gaboto.

Artificial dam

The company Molinos Juan Semino built an artificial dam that divides the river in two, endangering the fauna that lives there. It is located in the city of Carcarañá and is the only one left standing of a series of three. dams that were built between 1867 and 1878. The provincial governments of Santa Fe and Córdoba agreed to remove the dam but the company gave up negotiating. An additional problem is that the dam prevents the entry of fish into the Ctalamochita River, a tributary of this river.

The company uses the dam to power electricity generators for its plant.

Toponymy

The name of this river derives from the name of a group of Avas (Guaraníes) who around the XVI century inhabited its banks. Its name derives from the Guarani "Caracará añá", which is the name of the Indians who inhabited the area and means "devil carancho" (the carancho is a scavenger bird of the region). During the 18th and 19th centuries the river and its surrounding region in Santa Fe territory was also known as Desmochado.