The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: Serra da Mantiqueira [literally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain]) are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.
The name shows the range's great importance as a source of drinking water, and the waters supply a great number of important cities in the southeast of Brazil. From its brooks are formed the Jaguari River, which supplies the northern region of Greater São Paulo; most left-bank tributaries of the Paraíba do Sul River, which crosses a densely populated and highly industrialized region; and the Grande River, which is the source of the Paraná River, one of the longest and most important in South America and the river with the world's largest hydroelectric output, through a series of power plants way down the river to Argentina and Paraguay.
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