geo.wikisort.org - River

The Lauca River is a binational river. It originates in the Chilean Altiplano of the Arica and Parinacota Region, crosses the Andes and empties into Coipasa Lake in Bolivia.

Lauca River
Etymology	Aymara
Location
Countries	Bolivia Chile
Departments (BO)	La Paz Oruro
Regions (CL)	Arica and Parinacota Tarapacá
Physical characteristics
Source	Parinacota wetlands
• location	Parinacota Province
• elevation	4,350 m (14,270 ft)
Mouth	Coipasa Lake
• location	Sabaya Province
Length	225 km (140 mi)
Discharge
• average	0.79 m3/s (28 cu ft/s)

The upper reach of the river lies within the boundaries of Lauca National Park in the Parinacota Province. Lauca River receives waters from a group of lakes known as Quta Qutani through the Desaguadero River. In this area there is a type of marsh known as Parinacota wetlands, 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 Parinacota wetlands 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 Wallatiri 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.[1]

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 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 Parinacota wetlands, 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.[2]

References

• This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, accessed March 31, 2007.
• Niemeyer, Hans; Cereceda, Pilar (1983). Geografía de Chile — Tomo VIII: Hidrografía (1º edición, Santiago de Chile: Instituto Geográfico Militar ed.).

На других языках

---

[de] Río Lauca

Der Río Lauca entspringt auf chilenischen Hoheitsgebiet in den Sümpfen von Parinacota und wird mit Wasser aus dem Lago Chungará, dem Lago Cotacotani, und dem Lago La Cueva gespeist. Der Río Lauca fließt 76 km auf chilenischem Gebiet und nimmt dort Wasser aus den Flüssen Río Blanco, Río Portales und Río Guayatire auf. Bei Macaya (18°35' S, 69°5' W) fließt der Río Lauca auf bolivianisches Staatsgebiet. Bei niedrigem Wasserstand führt der Fluss 3 Kubikmeter/sek.[1] Wasser.

---

- [en] Lauca River

---

[es] Río Lauca

El río Lauca es un curso natural de agua que nace de las lagunas de Cotacotani, dentro del parque nacional Lauca, en la región chilena de Arica y Parinacota y cruza la frontera hacia el Departamento de Oruro, en Bolivia, para desembocar en el lago Coipasa.

---

[it] Lauca (fiume)

Il Lauca è un fiume cileno-boliviano che nasce in un altopiano situato nella regione cilena di Tarapacá, attraversa le Ande e si getta nel lago Coipasa, in Bolivia.

---

[ru] Лаука

Ла́ука (исп. Río Lauca)[1] — река в Боливии и Чили. Длина реки — 225 км, из них 75 км — чилийское течение и 150 км — боливийское[2]. Площадь чилийской части бассейна — 2350 км²[3], боливийской — 25478 км²[4][5].

---

---