Which river carries the waters of Iguazu Falls?

The Iguazu River carries the waters of Iguazu Falls.

The river rises in Brazil’s Serra do Mar near Curitiba and flows generally west for about 1,320 kilometres. Near the border of Brazil and Argentina, it drops over a basalt plateau to create Iguazu Falls, one of the world’s largest waterfall systems.

The falls are divided between Iguaçu National Park in Brazil and Iguazú National Park in Argentina. Although the river forms part of the international border below its confluence with the San Antonio River, most of the waterfall complex lies on the Argentine side.

After passing over the falls, the Iguazu continues westward and joins the Paraná River near the Triple Frontier, where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. The Paraná then carries its water into the Río de la Plata system. The Paraná River is therefore the Iguazu’s downstream recipient, not the river that carries the falls themselves.