River · Uruguay
Río Negro
The Río Negro is the longest river of Uruguay and cuts the country into a northern and a southern half. After a slow journey through grassland it joins the Río Uruguay near Soriano.
Picture credit: Tano4595 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Río Negro?
The river starts here: Hills of southern Brazil, above the Uruguayan border.
It ends in the Río Uruguay near Soriano.
Countries on the river: Uruguay.
The story behind it
The Río Negro rises in the hills of southern Brazil and then crosses the whole width of Uruguay from north-east to south-west. Its name means black river, because peat and plant remains stain the water dark, almost like tea. Three dams stand along its course and hold back an enormous reservoir, the Rincón del Bonete, which supplies the country with electricity and looks like an inland sea with many bays. Around the banks lie wide cattle ranches; herons stalk through the reeds, capybaras sit in family groups on the mud, and anglers wait for the big dorado fish. In dry summers the water sinks low and farmers worry about their fields. How long the river really is remains uncertain: measurements vary because its upper reaches lie in another country.
Questions children ask
How long is the Río Negro?
The Río Negro is given as about 800 km long. Different sources do not fully agree, because part of the upper river lies outside Uruguay. Even so, it is clearly the longest river of the country.
Which country does the Río Negro flow through?
The Río Negro is counted as a river of Uruguay, where almost all of its course lies. It crosses the country from one side to the other. Its very first streams gather just beyond the border in southern Brazil.
Where does the Río Negro flow into?
The Río Negro joins the Río Uruguay near Soriano. From there the water flows on into the wide Río de la Plata and finally reaches the Atlantic. The meeting place is a quiet area of islands and sandbanks.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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