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Limay River
The Limay River is an important river in the northwestern Argentine Patagonia (the region of Comahue). It is born at the eastern end of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and flows in a meandering path for about 380 km, collecting the waters of several tributaries, such as the Traful, the Pichileufu and the Collon Cura. It then meets the Neuquen River and together they become the Rio Negro. At this confluence lies the city of Neuquen.
The river serves as natural limit between the provinces of Rio Negro and Neuquen. Its deep waters are clear, and carry a large flow (700 m/s on average). Its drainage basin has an area of 61,723 km and includes almost all the rivers and streams of the Atlantic basin in the region, as well as an extensive network of lakes.
The waters of the Limay are used to generate hydroelectricity at the five dams built on its course: Alicura, Piedra del Aguila, Pichi Picun Leufu, El Chocon, and Arroyito; together with the Cerros Colorados Complex on the Neuquen River they contribute with more than one quarter of the total hydroelectric generation in the country. The construction of the successive dams and reservoirs has reduced the length of the river (originally about 450 km). Next to it, at the town of Arroyito, was constructed in the 1980s the only heavy water plant in South America.
The river is also used for fly fishing, and in some points its banks are suitable as beach resorts, with facilities for camping.
References
Colbert E. Cushing, Kenneth W. Cummins, G. Wayne Minshall: River and Stream Ecosystems of the World: With a New Introduction. University of California Press 2006, ISBN 0-520-24567-9, S. 280ff ( eingeschrankte Online-Version (Google Books))
Argentour Rio Limay
Pescando con Mosca en la Patagonia Argentina
Ministry of Environment Hydrological basins of Argentina.
Ministry of Economy Provincial Economic Overview, Neuquen, August 2005.
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Limay River
