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São Francisco River
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Physical map of eastern Brazil highlighting the Sao Francisco River and its extensive drainage network, with major tributaries, reservoirs, dams, and waterfalls marked. The map uses color shading to indicate elevation and shows political boundaries, major cities, and geographic features such as uplands and mountain ranges. An inset locator map of South America identifies the region within Brazil.
A textured blue background with white text reading Rio Sao Francisco.
Paulo Afonso Falls Petrolina
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Paulo Afonso Falls
São Francisco River summary
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Physical map of eastern Brazil highlighting the Sao Francisco River and its extensive drainage network, with major tributaries, reservoirs, dams, and waterfalls marked. The map uses color shading to indicate elevation and shows political boundaries, major cities, and geographic features such as uplands and mountain ranges. An inset locator map of South America identifies the region within Brazil.
São Francisco River The São Francisco River and its drainage network.

São Francisco River

river, Brazil
Also known as: Rio São Francisco
Written by
Kempton E. Webb
Emeritus Professor of Geography, Columbia University. Author of The Changing Face of Northeast Brazil.
Kempton E. WebbAll
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

São Francisco River, major river of eastern South America. With a length of 1,811 miles (2,914 kilometres), it is the fourth largest river system of the continent and the largest river wholly within Brazil. The São Francisco has been called the “river of national unity,” for it long has served as a line of communication between Brazil’s maritime and western regions and between the northeast and the south. The river is named for the 16th-century...

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