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ParanA, river, c.2,000 mi (3,200 km) long, formed by the junction of the ParanaIba and the Rio Grande, SE Brazil. It has the second largest drainage system in South America. It flows generally southwest to its confluence with the Paraguay River, forming the southern border of Paraguay, then S and E through NE Argentina to join the Uruguay River in a huge delta at the head of the RIo de la Plata. The lower ParanA is hampered by shifting channels, sandbars, and fluctuating river flow, and is subject to flooding. The stretch along the Brazil-Paraguay border flows in a deep bed and is broken by many waterfalls, now submerged under the large ItaipU dam built in the 1980s. Downstream at EncarnaciOn, Paraguay, the river is crossed by the YacyretA dam. The ParanA is the principal commercial artery of interior SE South America. Navigable for oceangoing vessels (via a dredged channel) to Rosario and Santa Fe in Argentina, the ParanA accommodates river craft to the IguaCu River. A bridge over the river at Foz do IguaCu links Brazil and Paraguay. The ParanA was first ascended (1526) by Sebastian Cabot, the English explorer in the service of Spain.
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