The Santa River ( es, Río Santa) is a river in the South American Andes mountain range in the

Ancash Region Ancash ( qu, Anqash; es, Áncash ) is a department and region in northern Peru. It is bordered by the departments of La Libertad on the north, Huánuco and Pasco on the east, Lima on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital i ...

of northwest central Peru.

River Course

Lake Conococha Lake Conococha (possibly from Quechua ''quñuq'', ''qunuq'' warm, lukewarm, ''qucha'' lake, "warm lake") is a South American lake located in the Andes mountains of northwestern Peru. It is located in the region of Ancash near the junction of the ro ...

, at an altitude of 4,050 m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

and at , is considered the headwaters of the Santa River. Lake Conococha itself is fed by small streams from the Cordillera Negra in the west and the snowcapped Cordillera Blanca in the east. The main tributary of the lake is Tuco River which has its source at Lake Tuco () about 5,000 m above sea level at one of the glacier tongues of mount Tuco. The Santa River emerges from Lake Conococha and for 200 km runs in a northerly direction between the Cordillera Negra in the west and the Cordillera Blanca in the east, forming the fertile

Callejón de Huaylas The Santa Valley (Quechua language, Quechua ''Sancta'') is an inter-andean valley in the Ancash Region in the north-central highlands of Peru. Due to its location between two mountain ranges, it is known as Callejón de Huaylas, the Alley of Huayla ...

. At 2,000 m above sea level the river changes its course to a westerly direction, squeezing through the narrow gorge of

Cañon del Pato A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

("duck's canyon") before it finally breaks through the coastal ridges. During the dry season from June to November, the Santa River provides only a little water for irrigation, drinking water and hydroelectric power. A couple of water reservoirs have been established to control the fluctuation of the river. Upstream of the hydroelectric power plant at Huallanca, the Santa River watershed covers an area of 4,900 km², downstream another 7,300 km². The mouth of the river, after the river runs a total length of 347 km, is at near Santa, 10 km north of the coastal town of Chimbote. In 1984, gold dust was discovered in the mouth of Santa River which caused a regional

gold fever A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Ze ...

among the rural population.

Towns

From

to the river mouth, towns along the river are: * 0 km Conococha (4,050 m elevation) *62 km Recuay (3,400 m) *88 km Huaraz (3,090 m) *126 km

Carhuaz Carhuaz, Peru is the capital of the province of Carhuaz. It is located in the Ancash Region, Carhuaz Province, Carhuaz District. Geography It is situated at 34 km from Huaraz, at 2,688 msnm. Its temperature average is from 12 to 14& ...

(2,650 m) *153 km Yungay, Peru (2,500 m) *163 km Caraz (2,290 m) *205 km Huallanca (1,820 m) *215 km Yuracmarca (1,420 m) *343 km Santa (20 m) For most of its course, the Santa River is accompanied by a paved road.

Natural Hazards

The Santa Valley has always experienced severe disasters. Beginning in 1702 when a

glaciological Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climato ...

flood is first recorded, the valley has repeatedly suffered deaths and destruction. In 1941, a flood destroyed one-third of Huaraz, killing 5,000 to 7,000 people. In 1962 and 1970, a massive avalanche of ice and rocks tumbled down from the western slopes of Huascarán and then roared down the river valley. The Santa River rose by eight metres and 3,000 to 4,000 people were killed in the catastrophe. Devastating

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s like these will always threaten the region, when falling glacial ice triggers sudden drainages of ice-dammed lakes in the mountainous region and liquid mud, blocks of ice and large rock boulders crash down the narrow valleys.

Gallery

File:Cañon del Pato MTB.jpg, Cañon del Pato

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Peru Rivers of Ancash Region