A river that looks like a desert: the murky waters of the Rio de la Plata
The view of the Rio de la Plata can be misleading - due to the huge amount of silt and sand, its waters look like an endless expanse of sand. See how this unusual phenomenon looks from a boat.
The Rio de la Plata is an estuary, that is, the mouth of a river that widens towards the sea. That is why its width reaches a whopping 220 kilometers.
The turbid color of the water is explained by the huge amount of sediment (silt and sand) that the Parana and Uruguay rivers bring with them. This "sandy" water can cause an effect similar to sandblasting for the sides of ships.
