The New International Encyclopædia/Tocantins, Rio

TOCANTINS, tō′kȧn-tēns′, Pg. pron. tō′käN-tēNsh′, Rio. A large river of Brazil, often considered as a branch of the Amazon (Map: Brazil, H 4). It rises in the southern part of the State of Goyaz, and flows northward, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through the large estuary known as the Rio Pará (q.v.), which comuumicates with the estuary of the Amazon. The total length of the Tocantins is about 1700 miles. About 600 miles from its mouth it receives the Araguayá (q.v.), which flows nearly parallel with, and exceeds in length, the main river from the point of confluence. The Tocantins is obstructed in several places by rocky reefs formed by spurs of the Cordillera which it skirts. The last of these, the Falls of Itaboca, are situated below the confluence of the Araguayá, only 130 miles above the estuary, and completely obstruct navigation. Small steamers, however, ply on the upper reaches, though the country along the banks is very sparsely populated and almost undeveloped.