Boundaries
To the North and the Northeast, Parand borders on the State of São Paulo, a distance of 940 kilometers coinciding with the course of the Paranapanema, Ribeira and Ararapira rivers. To the West, it borders on the Republic of Paraguay (208 kml]3O mijes) and the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (219 km/137 miles), coinciding with the course of the Parand River. To the South, it borders on the State of Santa Catarina (754 km/471 miles) starting at the mouth of the Sal-Guaçu River, on the coast, and going as far as the wellsprings of the Jangada River in the southeast portion of the state. To lhe Southeast, the state borders are with Argentina, starting at the headwaters of the Santo Antonio River and going as far as the spot where the Iguaçu and Parand Rivers meet. To the East, just beyond the legendary "Atlantic Shield" (Serra do Mar Mountain Range), the border with the ocean is 98 km (61 miles) long. The actual coastline, however, is over 150 km (93.2 miles) long, if inlets and bays are taken into account. Among the bays, that of Paranaguá - Brazil's second largest, which forms three secondary bays, namely those of Antonina, Laranjeiras and Pinheiros - projects 40 km (25 miles) into the continent, and has a total area of 667 km (414.5 sq. miles). The great number os islands, islets and reefs which dot the bay enhance the exceptional variety of its charming seascapes.