Deseado River () is a river in the Argentina province of Santa Cruz.[ The name Deseado comes from the English Desire, the name of one of the two ships commanded by John Davis during the Thomas Cavendish expedition of 1592.][
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The source of the river is located as the Fénix River some kilometers north of the Buenos Aires Lake in the northwestern part of the province at the Andes range. Originally, if then flowed into the lake (and the via Rio Baker into the Pacific). In 1898, a canal was built that turned it into today's Rio Deseado, flowing for before reaching the Atlantic Ocean Coast. On its way southeast, its water is tapped for irrigation. Its tributary include the Pinturas River.
The river sometimes disappears under the arid terrain, to re-emerge before reaching Puerto Deseado on Santa Cruz's coastline, where it produces a deep-water natural port. The river's outlet has become submerged and flooded by seawater, creating an estuary. In 1977, this was set aside as a nature reserve, the Reserva Natural Ría Deseado.[
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