A huaico or huayco (from the

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

''wayqu'', meaning "depth, valley") is an

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

term for the

mudslide A mudflow or mud flow is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/second. Mudflows contain a significa ...

and

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

caused by torrential

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

s occurring high in the mountains, especially during the weather phenomenon known as ''

El Niño El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...

''. National forests such as the

San Matías–San Carlos Protection Forest The San Matías–San Carlos Protection Forest (Bosque de Protección San Matías-San Carlos) is a national forest situated in Pasco Region, Peru. It is a forest set aside to preserve the soils and to protect infrastructure, towns, and agricul ...

were created in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

to protect vegetation, which reduces runoff, and prevent huaicos. The indigenous

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...

residents of ''

Lo Barnechea Lo Barnechea is a commune located in the northeastern zone of Santiago de Chile, northeastern sector of the province of Santiago and its area corresponds to 48% of this province. Its urban boundaries are: to the north with Los Andes, Chile, Los An ...

'', in present-day

Santiago Province, Chile Santiago Province ( es, Provincia de Santiago) is one of the six provinces of the Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM) of central Chile. It encompasses the majority of the population of that region, including 31 of the 36 communities of Greater Santia ...

, were called ''Huaicoches'' in their Mapudungun language: ''Huaico'' (

) and ''che'' (people). "''Cabeça d'água''" (lit. "Water head") is a term in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

describing similar phenomena: During

orographic rain In meteorology, the different types of precipitation often include the character, formation, or phase of the precipitation which is falling to ground level. There are three distinct ways that precipitation can occur. Convective precipitation is g ...

, rivers in mountain ranges are often struck by very rapid flooding, which produces a downward wave that can carry large river rocks, vegetation, and people. Several fatalities have been recorded due to water heads, usually from people not familiar with local conditions.

References

Hydrology Geography of Peru {{Climate-stub