Bío-Bío River

From Freepedia

Image:Concepcion and the river BioBio.jpg

The Bío-Bío River (alternate spellings Biobío or BIO BIO) is the second largest river in Chile. It originates in the Andes and flows 380 km to the Gulf of Arauco on the Pacific Ocean. It was the traditional borderline between southern Mapuche self-ruled areas and northern Spanish-ruled Chile.

In the early 1980s it was renowned as being one of world's best whitewater rafting venues with a trip that lasted seven days through some of Chile's wilderness areas. Endesa, the Chilean state-run power company at that time, constructed the Pangue dam, despite strong protests by environmentalists. With the loss of the whitewater rafting venue, there was also the displacement of the indigenous Pehuenche people, who had lived in the area for centuries.