Santa Cruz River
| Santa Cruz River | ||
 Bridge over the Río Santa Cruz at Comandante Luis Piedra Buena |
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| Data | ||
| location | Santa Cruz Province ( Argentina ) | |
| River system | Santa Cruz River | |
| origin |
Lago Argentino 50 ° 13 ′ 56 ″ S , 72 ° 31 ′ 26 ″ W |
|
| Source height | 187 m | |
| muzzle | at Puerto Santa Cruz in the Atlantic Ocean Coordinates: 50 ° 8 ′ 0 ″ S , 68 ° 21 ′ 0 ″ W 50 ° 8 ′ 0 ″ S , 68 ° 21 ′ 0 ″ W |
|
| Mouth height | 0 m | |
| Height difference | 187 m | |
| Bottom slope | 0.49 ‰ | |
| length | 385 km | |
| Catchment area | 29,686 km² | |
| Drain |
MQ |
790 m³ / s |
| Left tributaries | Río Chico | |
| Communities | Puerto Santa Cruz | |
The Río Santa Cruz is a river in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz in Patagonia .
The river drains the glacial lake Lago Argentino , which in turn is fed by Lago Viedma via the Rio Leona . The western part of both glacial lakes and the adjacent glaciers are located in the Los Glaciares National Park .
The river flows through Patagonia in an easterly direction and flows into the Atlantic Ocean after 385 km at Puerto Santa Cruz . The Río Santa Cruz has an average discharge of 790 m³ / s and is not only used for irrigation, but also for energy generation.
For a long time it was believed that the Río Santa Cruz was one of those valleys that were formed over a period of millions of years. Today it is assumed, however, that the valley was formed very quickly by melting glaciers. This is now also recognized for Lake Missoula in the northwestern United States , a view that has also long been considered ridiculous.
