Turn to your map of South America, and find Buenos Aires (bw´ ns ´ rs). You will observe that it is located on the Plata River. The Plata is only the broad mouth of the Uruguay ( r-gw) and the Parana Rivers. It is a shallow stream with only a low tide. It was therefore necessary to dredge channels through the muddy bottom of the river before ocean-going vessels could dock at Buenos Aires. One of these channels is 6 miles long and over 300 feet wide. Dredges are kept at work constantly to keep the channels open. The Parana and the Uruguay Rivers bring down so much earth the roadways of the vessels would soon be filled if left alone. The government of Argentina has spent millions of dollars to keep the channels clear, and to keep the Parana from filling up the Plata above Buenos Aires. The Parana is a very large river. It carries 1 1/2 times as much as water to the sea as does the Mississippi, and it drops about 10,000 tons of earth an hour into the Plata. If the Argentine government did not keep dredges busy, the Plata would soon be chocked with mud. Deltas would appear. Then perhaps the whole river valley would be gradually filled. This is the way rivers build up the lowlands near the mouths. The Plata at the place this picture was taken is 28 miles wide. This is a hundred miles from the Atlantic. At its mouth it is 125 miles wide. The great extent of its waters makes a fine place for ships to anchor. The government keeps the sailors informed of the depth the water will likely be from week to week. What other port is on the Plata? Measure the distance between New York and Buenos Aires. Keystone ID: 20824 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.