Chuí Stream

This article is about the South American stream. For the Central Asian Chu, Chui or Chuy River in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, see Chu River.

The Chuí, or Chuy Stream (Brazilian Portuguese: Arroio Chuí [ɐˈʁoju ʃuˈi], Rioplatense Spanish: Arroyo Chuy [aˈroʒo ˈtʃwi] or [aˈroʃo ˈtʃwi]), is a short stream on the Brazilian–Uruguayan border that is celebrated as Brazil's southernmost point.

It rises in a small swamp in the sandy coastal plains of far southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, runs initially southward, then turns east before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. In its final course, the stream marks the last stretch of the Brazilian border with Uruguay. In Brazil, it lies mostly in the municipality of Santa Vitória do Palmar, with a short section in Chuí. The Uruguayan side belongs to the city of Chuy, in the department of Rocha.

The Chuí is only a few tens of kilometres long and its water volume is unimpressive; indeed, this is why it is called an arroio or arroyo, which respectively in that region's local variants of Brazilian Portuguese and Rioplatense Spanish mean "stream." It would be unremarkable, were it not for the fact that Arroio Chuí is known throughout Brazil and mentioned in all Brazilian Geography schoolbooks as being the country's southernmost point. The actual extreme point is on a bend of the stream approximately 2.7 km (1.7 mi) upstream from its mouth on the sea, near the twin coastal villages of Barra do Chuí (Brazil) and Barra del Chuy (Uruguay), at 33°45′03.49″S 53°23′40.90″W / 33.7509694°S 53.3946944°W / -33.7509694; -53.3946944.

The stream is mentioned in the widespread Brazilian Portuguese expression "do Oiapoque ao Chuí" ("from the Oiapoque to the Chuí [rivers]"), referring to the fact that the mouths of these bodies of water are commonly thought to be the country's two extreme points in the North and South. Actually, they are only the extremities of the Brazilian coast. The saying has approximately the same meaning as the American expression "from coast to coast" - i.e., it is used to refer to something that encompasses the whole country.

The mouth of the Chuí Stream is not only the southernmost, but also the westernmost point of the Brazilian coast, as well as both the northernmost and easternmost point of the Uruguayan coast. It also marks the southern end of Cassino Beach, the world's longest uninterrupted stretch of sandy ocean shore, stretching over 240 km (150 mi) from the stone breakwaters of Rio Grande in the northern end.

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