Loa River
| Loa River | |
|---|---|
 Map | |
| Location | |
| Country | Chile |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Miño Volcano |
| • coordinates | 21°11′59″S 68°40′05″W / 21.1996°S 68.668°W |
| • elevation | 4,277 m (14,032 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Pacific Ocean |
• coordinates | 21°25′48″S 70°03′27″W / 21.43°S 70.0576°W |
• elevation | Sea level |
| Length | 440 km (270 mi)[1] |
| Basin size | 33,570 km2 (12,960 sq mi)[1] |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 2.43 m3/s (86 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | San Pedro de Inacaliri River Salado River |
| • right | San Salvador River |
The Loa River (Spanish: Río Loa) is a U-shaped river in Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. At 440 km (270 mi) long, it is the country's longest river and the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert.[1]
Course
The Loa's sources are located on Andean mountain slopes at the foot of Miño Volcano. The upper Loa basin is flanked on the west by a ridge with elevations that reach above 4,500 m (14,800 ft), whereas to the east lies a volcanic chain, which separates it from endorheic basins as that of Salar de Ascotán.
The river flows south on an elevated plateau, for about 150 km (90 mi), to the
From Chiu Chiu, the Loa flows west and north in a great curve to Quillagua. After flowing for 115 km (71 mi) in this portion of its course and having run through the city of Calama, the Loa receives the waters of San Salvador River at the locality of Chacance. Thence the river flows north for about 80 km (50 mi) to Quillagua.
From Quillagua, its dry channel turns westward again and marks the border between the regions of
The hydrologic regime of the river basin is rain-dominated. The increase of its water volume occurs mainly in January and February, as a consequence of the phenomenon known locally as Bolivian Winter.
History
Its banks have been inhabited from early times. Evidence of this is the notable number of
Another indication of its rich past is the
Bridges
To the south of Conchi reservoir, the river is spanned by the Conchi Viaduct, an old railroad bridge. It is no longer used by the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia, however it still holds the notability of being, at 104 m (341 ft), one of the highest bridges in Chile.[2]
Needs
This river supplies many towns with water used to raise shrimp. Lately, mining companies have been polluting this river, making the water unusable.
| Rivers |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Oases | ||
| Rivers | | |
|---|---|---|
| Lakes | ||
| Salt pans | ||
References
- ^ a b c (in Spanish) Cuenca del río Loa
- ^ (in Spanish) Conchi Bridge Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lamoureux, Andrew Jackson (1911). "Chile". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 144.
- This article draws partially on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, accessed July 10, 2007.
