Colorado River (Argentina)

The Colorado River in Argentina is a major Patagonian river that rises in the western Andes and runs eastward across northern Patagonia to the Atlantic coast. It is an important river for regional irrigation and marks or crosses provincial boundaries in southern Argentina.

The river system drains a broad area of Neuquén and Río Negro provinces and has been used historically for irrigation, ranching and limited river transport. Parts of its course flow through semi-arid steppe and form seasonal wetlands and channels in the lower reaches.

The river originates in the Andean foothills of western Argentina and flows generally east across northern Patagonia before reaching the Atlantic Ocean along Argentina’s eastern seaboard. It runs through Neuquén Province in its upper reaches and continues across sparsely populated agricultural and rangeland.