Skip to content
riveryas
EN

River

São Francisco River

2,814 km from source to mouth · Brazil.

BrazilBrazilFlows into Atlantic Ocean5th longest in Brazil

Follow the riverMonth by month

SourceMouthPetrolinaPaulo Afonso
The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

2,814km

Average flow

2.9m³/s

Basin

641,000km²

Drop

931m

from 929 m to -2 m

Country

1

The journey

From source to mouth

2,814 km of river and 68 stops on the way: 41 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

929 m-2 m
Serra da Canastra National Parkat 929 m0 km
Três Marias Reservoir800 km²441 km
Lagoa do Paracat0.5 km²697 km
Peruaçu Rivertributary935 km
Corrente Rivertributary1,200 km
Grande Rivertributary1,472 km
Petrolina418,444 people1,905 km
Juazeiro256,122 people1,906 km
Paulo Afonso119,418 people2,356 km
Atlantic Oceanat -2 m2,814 km
01,0002,0002,814 km
  1. 0 kmSerra da Canastra National Parkat 929 m
  2. 122 kmLagoa da Inhuma1.0 km²
  3. 151 kmLagoa das Piranhas0.5 km²
  4. 159 kmLagoa do Barreiro0.5 km²
  5. 297 kmPará Rivertributary
  6. 441 kmTrês Marias Reservoir800 km²
  7. 442 kmTrês Marias Dam
  8. 444 kmTrês Marias28,895 people
  9. 475 kmAbaeté Rivertributary
  10. 573 kmMarshal Hermes da Fonseca Bridge
  11. 574 kmPirapora57,713 people
  12. 574 kmBuritizeiro23,910 people
  13. 600 kmDas Velhas Rivertributary
  14. 668 kmPacuí Rivertributary
  15. 697 kmLagoa do Paracat0.5 km²
  16. 698 kmParacatu Rivertributary
  17. 727 kmSão Romão10,315 people
  18. 763 kmUrucuia Rivertributary
  19. 795 kmSão Francisco56,477 people
  20. 866 kmPedras de Maria da Cruz10,433 people
  21. 879 kmJanuária65,150 people
  22. 935 kmPeruaçu Rivertributary
  23. 939 kmItacarambi17,208 people
  24. 977 kmMatias Cardoso8,895 people
  25. 989 kmManga18,886 people
  26. 1,017 kmVerde Grande Rivertributary
  27. 1,041 kmCarinhanha Rivertributary
  28. 1,042 kmMalhada16,861 people
  29. 1,045 kmCarinhanha28,869 people
  30. 1,181 kmBom Jesus da Lapa65,550 people
  31. 1,200 kmCorrente Rivertributary
  32. 1,202 kmSítio do Mato13,408 people
  33. 1,263 kmParatinga29,252 people
  34. 1,326 kmIbotirama27,003 people
  35. 1,472 kmBarra53,910 people
  36. 1,472 kmGrande Rivertributary
  37. 1,659 kmJacaré Rivertributary
  38. 1,863 kmSobradinho Reservoir2,615 km²
  39. 1,867 kmSobradinho23,233 people
  40. 1,905 kmPetrolina418,444 people
  41. 1,906 kmPonte Presidente Dutra
  42. 1,906 kmJuazeiro256,122 people
  43. 2,010 kmCuraçá34,180 people
  44. 2,039 kmSanta Maria da Boa Vista42,782 people
  45. 2,082 kmOrocó13,613 people
  46. 2,153 kmAbaré20,347 people
  47. 2,172 kmBelém de São Francisco18,713 people
  48. 2,204 kmRodelas9,442 people
  49. 2,219 kmPajeú Rivertributary
  50. 2,317 kmBrejinho8,010 people
  51. 2,317 kmCachoeira Itaparica
  52. 2,328 kmJatobá14,477 people
  53. 2,345 kmGlória15,234 people
  54. 2,345 kmMoxotó Rivertributary
  55. 2,354 kmPaulo Afonso Falls80 m
  56. 2,356 kmPaulo Afonso119,418 people
  57. 2,414 kmXingó Dam
  58. 2,416 kmCanindé de São Francisco26,834 people
  59. 2,420 kmPiranhas25,183 people
  60. 2,462 kmPão de Açúcar24,351 people
  61. 2,490 kmIpanema Rivertributary
  62. 2,513 kmGararu11,601 people
  63. 2,523 kmTraipu27,826 people
  64. 2,557 kmPorto Real do Colégio20,112 people
  65. 2,559 kmPropriá26,618 people
  66. 2,592 kmPenedo60,189 people
  67. 2,595 kmNeópolis16,426 people
  68. 2,609 kmIlha das Flores8,321 people
  69. 2,621 kmPiaçabuçu16,201 people
  70. 2,814 kmAtlantic Oceanat -2 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

River in Minas Gerais, Bahia, Pernambuco, Sergipe & Alagoas, Brazil

At the mouth it carries 2.9 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 849 seconds. It drops from 929 m to -2 m, 0.3 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 641,000 km², about the size of SS. 14.8 million people live in it. Highest water: from January to March; lowest: from July to October. It is heavily dammed: reservoirs can hold 87% of a year's flow.

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • PetrolinaLargest city on its banks · 418,444 people
  • Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 8 km from the cityCar hire at PNZ airport (Petrolina)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • On the water124 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • From May to SeptemberThe best months to visit

São Francisco River, month by month

Highest water: from January to March

Lowest water: from July to October. Best months to visit: from May to September.

5,600
26°130 mmJan
6,100
26°104 mmFeb
6,000
26°114 mmMar
4,700
25°67 mmApr
3,200
24°26 mmMay
2,000
22°16 mmJun
900
22°14 mmJul
400
23°8 mmAug
340
25°17 mmSep
690
26°51 mmOct
2,100
26°116 mmNov
4,100
26°145 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 340 m³/s in the lowest month to 6,100 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

Car hire at PNZ airport (Petrolina)Discover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

São Francisco River: the basin in numbers

637,199 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

DammedReservoirs can hold 87% of a year's flow: much of the river is a chain of lakes.
  • 14.8millionpeople live in the basin
  • 23/km²people per km²
  • 633maverage altitude of the basin
  • 953mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 23.4°Caverage air temperature
  • 11%protected areas
  • 0.7%covered by lakes
  • 74km³held in reservoirs

What covers the basin

  • 16% Forest
  • 7% Cropland
  • 26% 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

São Francisco River: what you find on the way

  • 53DamsDepósito de Rejeitos Murici - Módulo Central, Depósito de Rejeitos Murici - Módulo Oeste 1, Depósito de Rejeitos Murici - Módulo Oeste 2 and 50 more
  • 2Weirs
  • 3LocksEclusa de Sobradinho
  • 10WaterfallsCachoeira Comprida, Corredeira Rapadura, Corredeira das Pedras and 7 more
  • 3Boat ramps
  • 115Ferry piersPorto J de Castro, Porto do Wander, Porto do Verissimo and 112 more
  • 3MarinasPorto dos Amigos, Marina
  • 3Boat rentalsAluguel de caiaques, Passeio de Escuna - Cânion de Xingó
  • 9River beachesBalneário das Duchas, Ilha do Areão, Dunas do Velho Chico and 6 more

From OpenStreetMap, within 2.9 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

São Francisco 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.

  • 2waterfalls on the riverCascadyas
  • 6lakes on its wayLakeyas
  • 3beaches at the mouth and on the banksCoastya

Waterfalls (2)

On the river, by Cascadyas

  1. Cachoeira Itaparicakm 2,184
  2. Paulo Afonso Fallskm 2,22080m

Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗

Lakes and reservoirs (6)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Lagoa da Inhumakm 1151.0km²
  2. Lagoa das Piranhaskm 1420.5km²
  3. Lagoa do Barreirokm 1500.5km²
  4. Três Marias Reservoirkm 416800km²
  5. Lagoa do Paracatkm 6580.5km²
  6. Sobradinho Reservoirkm 1,7562,615km²

Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

Beaches (3)

At the mouth (25 km) and on the banks, by Coastya

  1. Praia do Cabeço4.9 km away28.5°C
  2. Praia do Costinha8.7 km away28.5°C
  3. Praia da Ponta dos Mangues16 km away28.4°C

Open Coastya ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

São Francisco River: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
São Francisco River: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth109 km across

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

São Francisco River in pictures

Canindé de São Francisco-002
Cleferson Comarela · CC BY-SA 3.0
Nyctiprogne vielliardi Bahian Nighthawk; São Francisco river, Januária, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Hector Bottai · CC BY-SA 4.0
Webysther 20150906183737 - Rio São Francisco, Xique-xique - Bahia
Webysther · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ponte sobre o Rio São Francisco em Ibotirama
Fotos GOVBA from Bahia/Brasil · CC BY 2.0

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

Tributaries (47)

Also: Abaeté River, Das Velhas River, Grande River, Paracatu River, Pajeú River, Carinhanha River, Ipanema River, Urucuia River, Verde Grande River, Pará River, Moxotó River, Corrente River, Jacaré River, Pacuí River, Paramirim River, Indaiá River, Peruaçu River, Brigida River, Capiá River, Colindó River, Curaçá River, Das Rãs River, Do Navio River, Garça River

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q142148) · CC0
Course, profile, basinRiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed along the river network from the point given by Wikidata
FlowWaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the riverWorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, damsWikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlasesCascadyas, Lakeyas, Coastya — 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.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit