River
Bío Bío River
380 km from source to mouth · Chile.
ChileFlows into Pacific Ocean2nd longest in Chile
In numbers
Length
380km
Average flow
900m³/s
Basin
23,920km²
Drop
1,149m
from 1,150 m to 1 m
Country
1
The journey
From source to mouth
380 km of river and 26 stops on the way: 12 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.
- 0 kmSourceat 1,150 m
- 2 kmLaguna Gualletué12 km²
- 56 kmLonquimay10,251 people
- 59 kmLonquimay Rivertributary
- 81 kmLaguna María Jesús0.5 km²
- 140 kmPangue Reservoir4.3 km²
- 192 kmQuilaco3,850 people
- 194 kmSanta Bárbara13,405 people
- 247 kmBureo Rivertributary
- 247 kmRío Duquecotributary
- 250 kmNegrete9,394 people
- 268 kmVergara Rivertributary
- 268 kmNacimiento26,523 people
- 275 kmTavolevo Rivertributary
- 293 kmLaja11,113 people
- 293 kmLaguna La Señoraza0.3 km²
- 294 kmLaja Rivertributary
- 317 kmSanta Juana13,228 people
- 340 kmHualqui24,333 people
- 351 kmChiguayante85,863 people
- 362 kmConcepción223,574 people
- 362 kmLlacolen lake0.6 km²
- 363 kmPuente ferroviario Biobío
- 365 kmSan Pedro de la Paz121,631 people
- 365 kmJuan Pablo II Bridge
- 366 kmHualpén86,639 people
- 369 kmPuente Industrial
- 380 kmPacific Oceanat 1 m
Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.
River in Chile
At the mouth it carries 899 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 2.8 seconds. It drops from 1,150 m to 1 m, 3.0 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 23,920 km², about the size of DJ. 757,000 people live in it. Highest water: from July to August; lowest: from December to March. No large dam holds it back: it is one of the world's free-flowing rivers.
Where to start
- ConcepciónLargest city on its banks · 223,574 people
- Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 6 km from the cityCar hire at CCP airport (Concepcion)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- On the water10 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
- From December to MarchThe best months to visit
Bío Bío River, month by month
Highest water: from July to August
Lowest water: from December to March. Best months to visit: from December to March.
From about 190 m³/s in the lowest month to 2,300 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.
Plan the trip
Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car
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The basin
Bío Bío River: the basin in numbers
24,252 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.
- 757,000people live in the basin
- 33/km²people per km²
- 806maverage altitude of the basin
- 1,421mmof rain a year (basin average)
- 10.1°Caverage air temperature
- 8%protected areas
- 0.4%covered by lakes
What covers the basin
- 58% Forest
- 7% Cropland
- 20% Pasture
- 1% Towns and cities
RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.
Along the river
Bío Bío River: what you find on the way
- 9WaterfallsSalto Lliwinko, Salto del río Malla, Salto del Malla and 6 more
- 10Ferry piersBalsa Rahue, Balsa Caracoles, Balseadero Callaqui and 7 more
- 3River beachesPlaya El Colgante, Balneario de San Roque, Playa Desembocadura
From OpenStreetMap, within 2.0 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Bío Bío River in our other atlases
What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.
5lakes on its wayLakeyas
15beaches at the mouth and on the banksCoastya
5mountains at the sourcePeakyas
1island off the mouthIslandyas
Lakes and reservoirs (5)
Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas
- Laguna Gualletuékm 212km²
- Laguna María Jesúskm 840.5km²
- Pangue Reservoirkm 1454.3km²
- Laguna La Señorazakm 3040.3km²
- Llacolen lakekm 3760.6km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
Beaches (15)
At the mouth (25 km) and on the banks, by Coastya
- Caleta El Soldado13 km away · cove14.5°C
- Caleta Manzano15 km away · cove14.5°C
- Caleta La Bomba11 km away · cove14.5°C
- Ensa Darsenita14 km away · cove14.5°C
- Caleta Matanzas24 km away · cove14.5°C
- Caleta Lirquén19 km away · cove14.5°C
- Ensenada La Trampa6.8 km away · cove14.4°C
- Ensenada Punta Arenas21 km away · cove14.5°C
7 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
Mountains at the source (5)
Within 15 km of the source, by Peakyas
- Cerro Coipocahué15 km away
- Cerro Potocura8.6 km away
- Cerro Los Mallines8.9 km away
- Cerro Chameramahuida7.4 km away
- Cerro Boscoso11 km away
Islands off the mouth (1)
Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas
- Quiriquina Island22 km away4.9km²
Islandyas is coming soonOpen Islandyas ↗
From space
The source and the mouth, seen from orbit
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.
Photos
Bío Bío River in pictures
Tributaries
Where it flows, and what flows into it
Tributaries (11)
Also: Laja River, Bureo River, Lonquimay River, Vergara River, Río Duqueco, Tavolevo River, Lirquén River, Rele River, Rahue River, Estero Mininco (Biobio), Río Huaqui
Where these numbers come from
| Name, length, places | Wikidata (Q93360) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Course, profile, basin | RiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata |
| Flow | WaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate along the river | WorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Towns, bridges, dams | Wikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Along the river | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Our other atlases | Lakeyas, Coastya, Peakyas, Islandyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every source and licence is on the data sources page.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit