- Lauca River
Infobox River
river_name = Lauca River
caption =
origin =Bofedal de Parinacota
mouth =Coipasa Lake
basin_countries =Bolivia /Chile
length = 225 km
elevation = 4,350 m Es icon [http://www.sinia.cl/1292/articles-31018_Lauca.pdf Cuenca del río Lauca] ]
discharge = 0.79 m³/s
watershed =The Lauca River is a binational river. It originates from
Chile anAltiplano of theTarapacá Region , crosses the Andes and empties intoCoipasa Lake , inBolivia .The upper reach of the river lies within the boundaries of
Lauca National Park ,Parinacota Province . Lauca receives the waters of theLaguna de Cotacotani through the "Desaguadero River". In this area exists a type of marsh known asBofedal de Parinacota , in which converge several streams, being the more important the river just mentioned, which has a variable flow rate ranging from 100 to 560 l/s, and an average of 260 l/s.From its source in the "Bofedal of Parinacota", the river flows west. The spurs of the "Cordillera Central" (also known as "Chapiquiña") form an obstacle impossible to pass through, forcing the river's course southward. In the vicinity of
Guallatiri volcano, the Lauca turns again, now eastward crossing from Chile into Bolivia at the latitude of "Macaya", at an elevation of 3,892 m asl and with a flow rate about 2,6 m³/s. In Chile the river drains an area of 2,350 km².In the Bolivian Altiplano, the Lauca collects the waters of the rivers Sajama and Coipasa, raising its flow rate up to 8 m³/s before turning south to empty into the Coipasa Lake, close to the salt flat of the same name.
During the 1930s, the Chilean government begun to use the hydrical resources of Lauca river for irrigation in the
Azapa Valley , generating a complaint from Bolivian government who argued that Chilean authorities were altering the course of an international river. Chile answered that the natural course of the river was not modified, but the works executed were related to the use of waters in the area of the "Bofedal de Parinacota", which not affect the total water flow of the Lauca in its course to Bolivia. The litigation between both countries, started in 1939, caused diplomatic tension until the 1960s.References
*This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, accessed
March 31 ,2007 .
* Cite book
author = Niemeyer, Hans; Cereceda, Pilar
title = Geografía de Chile — Tomo VIII: Hidrografía
year = 1983
edition= 1º edición, Santiago de Chile: Instituto Geográfico Militar
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