RIO DOCE: SOURCE, ROUTE, MOUTH, CHARACTERISTICS - GEOGRAPHY - 2024

The Rio Doce, which belongs to Brazil, is 853 km long through Minas Gerais state. Its waters have seen the birth and flourishing of at least two hundred and thirty municipalities and the development of businesses based on the extraction of precious stones and minerals, the coffee plantation, the raising of cattle and the livestock industry.

It is a very important natural resource in the history of the country due to its location and flow. Its 83,400 square kilometers of the flow of its basin make it a navigable river to transport mainly the minerals and gold extracted from the mines of the region.

Due to its length, El Doce ranks fifth among the rivers with the longest distance traveled in the geography of Brazil. Photo: Fernando Marino

Birth, route and mouth

The Doce river is born in the Serra da Mantiqueira, after the union of the Carmo and Piranga rivers in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast of Brazil. This region has its origin in the Cretaceous period and its composition is based on a rocky massif with altitudes ranging from 1,000 to almost 3,000 meters above sea level. In the following map you can see the area of ​​his birth:

Through its 853 kilometers in length it runs, in addition to Minas Gerais, the Espirito Santo state to finally empty into the Atlantic Ocean.

The most important cities and towns settled on its margins are Governador Valadares, Belo Oriente, Ipatinga, Colatina, Linhares, Tumiritinga, Coronel Fabriciano and Resplendor, among others.

In the times of conquest and colonization, it was a difficult area for the Portuguese pioneers to dominate, since the Botocudo, Pataxó and Crenaque Indians made it impossible to navigate.

However, with the passing of time, different explorers entered the area until they became common and built industries throughout its geography. The state of Minas Gerais, which runs along the river, has approximately 20 million inhabitants.

History

Satellite image of the mouth of the Rio Doce in the Atlantic. Source: NASA

In 1572, the explorer Sebastián Fernandes Tourinho completed the mission of discovering new mineral-rich lands by presenting to the Governor General of Brazil, Luis Brito D 'Almeida, a handful of precious stones brought from the region.

A little over a hundred years later, and following the footsteps of new explorers who followed that pioneer, the first gold reserves were confirmed, which nevertheless fell into oblivion due to the dangerousness of the area defended by the indigenous people, who avoided contact with the conquerors at all costs.

But, by the 18th century the maps of the territory were dusted off due to the depletion of other mines, which gave the area a capital importance due to the economic development of the fourth largest state in the country and the third most populated.

characteristics

The Rio Doce is one of the largest in Brazil. Source: Giovannaac

Due to its length, the Twelve is located in the fifth position of the rivers with the longest distance traveled in the geography of Brazil, making its way through 853 kilometers between the rock formations of this territory, starting at a height of more than a thousand meters above the sea level.

Historically, its channels have provided generous benefits for those who have settled on its margins and have known how to take advantage of them. Due to the longevity of the lands, the exploitation of minerals such as iron (mainly), gold, bauxite, manganese and precious stones is still maintained today.

On the other hand, it configured an essential transport channel for coffee, sugar cane, livestock production, wood and other raw materials, as well as a connection between the populations that developed near its basins as a result of commercial exploitation.

This is why it was invested, during different stages, in the installation of a railroad that runs through a large part of its margin and that connects the capital Belo Horizonte de Minas Gerais with Vitoria, located in the Espirito Santo state, covering about 660 kilometers.

- Economy

RÍo Doce seen under the Queimada Bridge and in the background Río Doce State Park - PERD. Source: Gecenir Kaizer

Mining activity concentrates in this sector three of the five large companies in Minas Gerais, one of them, the Vale do Río Doce company, which maintains the largest open pit mine on the planet. The country's iron and steel exports are supported by these industrial conglomerates.

However, the basin has also been exploited for agriculture, livestock, coffee production, fruit pulps, vegetables and cocoa, pig farming, cattle and dairy on a significant economic scale.

Added to the above is the chemical, metallurgy, leather, paper, paper pulp, textiles, alcohol and the largest steel industry in South America, which represents a significant contribution to the state's GDP, as well as a relevant industry of commerce and services and electricity generation.

El Doce runs through the second most populated state in the country, and fourth in size, the Valle do Aco basin has the highest population density and produces up to 18% of the state's GDP with the economic activities covered by the river.

- Rail system

A large part of the river banks are crossed by the Estrada de Ferro Vitória a Minas railway, which divides its operations between passenger cargo and cargo of materials extracted from the region.

During the journey in a passenger train, it is very common to come across freight trains that transport tons of raw materials and minerals that are exploited by different national and foreign companies.

There are two seasons for the passenger train mode, the high season with a large influx of passengers and the low season. For the first, the number of wagons in which people travel is doubled, employing up to six more; unlike the low season.

In total, the wagons are counted as follows: during the high season, 13 economy class wagons, 4 business class wagons, 1 dining car, 1 command car, 2 locomotives (G12 and G16) and 1 generator set are used. During the season, six economy class wagons are reduced.

Despite the fluctuation of passengers in both seasons, it is estimated that annually this railway, begun to be built during the late nineteenth century, transports one million passengers.

Likewise, the tons of materials transported along the almost one thousand kilometers of route make it one of the most important active trains in South America, moving approximately 40% of the rail load in Brazil, with an annual average of more than 100 million tons of products.

Given its proximity to the Doce river course, it has repeatedly been forced to stop its activity completely, setting a record of 35 days in 1979 due to the river overflowing.

The importance of this communication network focuses on the connection it establishes between the different populations that travel along its roads and the dynamization of the economic activity of the region, this necessarily has its effects on all aspects of the life of the inhabitants of the territory.

- Culture

In the areas visited by the river, different cultural manifestations survive the passing of the decades and the modernization of life, as well as the environment. The population, a mix between Afro-descendants and mestizos, still preserves the memory of certain old religious practices.

Among them is the congado, a sign of the syncretism between the cult of Catholicism and the heritage of cults brought from Africa during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries by the massive importation of people as slaves.

This congado consists of a rhythmic dance that represents the heart of the king of the Congo. It can appear during different festivals of the year, but stands out in the month of October with the festivities of the Virgin Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Musical instruments such as the cuica, the tambourine and another called reco – reco are used there.

In the towns of Ouro Preto and Mariana certain practices from the colonial era and some monuments still survive. It is very common to carve crafts in precious stones that abound throughout the region.

- Conservation

One of the conservation strategies for highly fragile areas of the river consists of the creation of national and state parks, ecological reserves, biological stations, indigenous reserves, and municipal parks.

Thus, in total two national parks have been decreed, the Caparaó and the Caraca; six state parks, including Sete Salões, Rio Corrente, Serra da Candonga, Serra do Brigadeiro, Itacolomi and the largest one, Parque Florestal Rio Doce.

- Threats facing the Rio Doce

The polluted fresh water from the river flows into the Atlantic. Source: NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the US Geological Survey.

2015 crash

Mining exploitation, the use of hectares for cultivation, the raising of cattle and pigs and the logging industry are some of the challenges that are constantly threatened on the river's territory.

An accident of catastrophic proportions occurred in 2015 for both aquatic and terrestrial species, including humans. This accident consisted of the collapse of two dams that contained more than 63,000,000 m³ of mud mixed with mercury, arsenic and lead residues, residual metals from the exploitation of iron.

Metal residues such as mercury, arsenic and lead are highly polluting, so mining companies have dikes to dump them and ensure that they do not spread and cause environmental problems.

Thus, the release of the aforementioned metals in the river caused the death of thousands of species of aquatic animals and the affectation of other thousands of hectares dedicated to agricultural crops.

There are at least two versions of this event, that of State institutions that indicate that the levels of contamination of the river are registered above what is acceptable for health; and the reports of the responsible mining companies that deny their contamination.

Consequences

Among the consequences generated by human neglect, there is the disappearance of a town of 630 inhabitants that resulted in the death of 10 people, the disappearance of 15 and left an approximate of 250,000 without drinking water.

Environmental experts consider that the recovery of the at least 500 kilometers of length of the river affected by the pollution has no recovery because they are heavy metals that are difficult to extract or clean in an ecosystem like that.

Main tributaries

Nine other rivers participate in the Rio Doce as tributaries that help maintain its great flow:

-Caratinga Cuieté.

-Santo Antonio.

-Piracicaba.

-Bark.

-Manhuacu.

-Matipó.

-Suacuí Grande.

-Xotopó.

-Guandú.

Flora and fauna

Alligators are common in the Rio Doce. Source: public domain image from the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Of the parks mentioned above, the Florestal Rio Doce is one of the most important since since the decree of July 14, 1944, in its 35,000 hectares of Atlantic forest 40 natural lagoons are protected, more than 10,000 species of flora and animals declared in danger of extinction.

Atlantic Forest

It is considered one of the most important remnants of vegetation connected to the Amazon rainforest. Initially it had 1,290,692.46 km ², but after its exploitation and constant urban planning it has been reduced to just 95,000 km², that is, less than 10% of its original space.

According to studies carried out by public and private entities, this area still preserves approximately 1,600,000 species of animals including insects, from which some 567 endemic species and 1,361 species can be highlighted including mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds, which represents the 2 % of all species on the planet in the vertebrate group, in addition to 454 species of trees per hectare.

This important region is also home to 70% of the country's population, generating real challenges in the conservation of the forest, its springs and springs that provide water to this number of people.

Traditional communities also settle within its boundaries, including indigenous groups such as the Guaraní, the Krenak, the Pataxó, Wassú, Tupiniquim, Terena, Potiguara and Gerén, among others.

References

1. O vale do Rio Doce, Henrique Lobo et al. Posted Dec 14, 2013. Taken from docsity.com
2. Wave. A reenactment of the Mariana tragedy, Brazil's worst environmental disaster. Published in July 2016. Taken from piaui.folha.uol.com.br
3. Minas Gerais. Published in 2016. Taken from rioandlearn.com
4. Brazil: Declare an emergency in 200 cities due to a mining spill in Mina Gerais. Posted on November 21, 2015. Taken from bloglemu.blogspot.com
5. Rio Doce Panel, Alternative livelihoods in the rural landscapes of the Rio Doce Basin after the Fundão Dam failure, 2015, taken from www.iucn.org