The São Francisco River, called the “river of national unity” represents the strength of all ethnic currents in Brazil, it has united the oldest levels of humanity to the country’s most recent ethnic and political structures. It brings the backcountry closer to the coast and integrates peoples and cultures.
It was discovered on October 4, 1501, by the travelers Américo Vespúcio and André Gonçalves. The Indigenous who inhabited the region called the river Opara, which means river-sea. It was then named São Francisco after St. Francis of Assisi, who was born in Italy 319 years before the River’s discovery.
The River originates from the Serra da Canastra in the municipality of Piumi, west of the state of Minas Gerais, and ends in Peba Beach, in the state of Alagoas (left bank), and Cabeço beach, in the state of Sergipe (right bank). It is also known as Rio dos Currais [“Stockyard River”] for having served as a trail for transport and cattle raising in colonial times, connecting the Northeast Region to the Midwest and Southeast Regions.
It is the third largest river in Brazil, with 3,163 kilometers in distance and 640,000 square kilometers of basin area, which is equivalent to seven times the territory of Portugal.
Its waters serve as a source of life and richness, which enable the multiple use of its potential for human and agriculture needs, energy generation, navigation, fish farming, leisure, and tourism. Throughout its length, several waterfalls are formed, more specifically the Cachoeira Grande, with 2,800m long; the Pirapora Waterfall, which delimits the upper and middle course of the river; the Sobradinho Waterfall, 5km long; Itaparica, the fourth waterfall from Upper to Lower São Francisco that, with its large volume of water, gives the site a picturesque aspect; and the Paulo Afonso Waterfall, one of the highest waterfalls in the world with its 82 meters drop and unique natural beauty.
For some years now, several problems of a social and economic aspect have affected the natural course of the river, such as siltation, deforestation of its floodplains, pollution, predatory fishing, burning, mining, and irrigation.
After 500 years from its discovery, the São Francisco River still is the main natural resource that drives regional development, generating electricity to the entire Northeast and to part of the state of Minas Gerais, with the hydroelectric dams of Paulo Afonso, Xingó, Itaparica, Sobradinho, and Três Marias.
Given its extraordinary importance to Brazil, during these 500 years of exploration, Velho Chico [“Old Francis”, an affectionate way to call the River] needs better treatment. Its spatial preservation is necessary and urgent so that it can also be useful to future generations.
Recife, July 11, 2003.
sources consulted
ÁVILA, Gabriela Martin. O rio São Francisco: a natureza e o homem. Recife: Chesf, 1998. Não paginado.
BERGAMINI, José. Rio São Francisco, sua história e estórias. Belo Horizonte: Comunicação, 1976.
MEDEIROS NETO, Luiz. História do São Francisco. Maceió: Casa Ramalho, 1941.
MÉDIO São Francisco: da potencialidade à realidade. Belo Horizonte: Fundação Laura de Andrade/ Grupo Gutierrez, 1986.
SÃO Francisco: o rio da unidade, a river for unity. 2.ed. [Brasília]: Companhia de Desenvolvimento do Vale do São Francisco, 1978. Texto em português e inglês.
how to quote this text
MACHADO, Regina Coeli Vieira. São Francisco River. In: Pesquisa Escolar. Recife: Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, 2003. Available at: https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/en/artigo/sao-francisco-river/. Access on: month day year. (Ex.: Aug. 6, 2023.)