Huasco River is a
river of Chile located in the
Huasco Province
Huasco Province (, es, Provincia de Huasco) is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Atacama (III). Vallenar is the capital city.
Geography and demography
According to the 2012 census by the National Statistics Institute, the ...
,
Atacama Region. Its headwaters in the upper catchments in high-altitude Andes glaciers are the Estrecho River, a tributary of El Tránsito River (catchment area 4,135 km2),
and Potrerillos River, a tributary of El Carmen River (catchment area 2 890 km2).
The Huasco River begins at the confluence of El Tránsito River and El Carmen River which is located in Junta del Carmen (790ma.s.l.).
A small portion of its course is impounded by a small dam forming the
Embalse Santa Juana.
Cities and towns along the Huasco include:
Vallenar
Vallenar is a city and commune in Atacama Region, Chile. It is the capital of the Huasco Province and is located in the valley of the Huasco River. Vallenar has 52,000 inhabitants. Its main activities are farming and mining. It was founded as S ...
,
Freirina
Freirina is a Chilean commune and town in Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The commune spans an area of .
Demographics
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, Freirina had 5,666 inhabitants; of these, 3,469 (61.2%) liv ...
and
Huasco
Huasco () is a Chilean city and commune, in the Huasco Province, Atacama Region.
The port city of Huasco is located 50 km west of Vallenar and close to the town of ''Huasco Bajo'', which lies on the southern bank of the Huasco River and o ...
.
Andean glaciers and the Huasco River Basin
The inhabitants of the Huasco valley, a semi-arid region, depend on water resources from the upper catchments in high-altitude Andes glaciers which contribution to the discharge of two Huasco River headwaters: the Estrecho River and the Potrerillos River which arise from two small neighboring catchments, they actually belong to two major subcatchments of the Huasco Basin.
[
]
A collaborative study between the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA) and the Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE) investigated the glacier contribution to the Huasco River basins by two glaciated headwater catchments which included the monitoring of five Andean glaciers (Toro 1, Toro 2, Esperanza, Guanaco, Estrecho and Ortigas) between 2003/2004 and 2007/2008 hydrological years. The Andean "glaciers accelerated retreat" represents a "striking example of climate change impacts."
Concerns were raised by Sustainable Chile Program president,
Sara Larraín, a
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an politician and
environmentalist
An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
who ran for
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
in
1999 presidential election, that the Andean glaciers, particularly Toro 1, Toro 2 and Esperanza, were endangered by the
Pascua Lama project.
[
]
In May 2013, Chile's Superintendence of the Environment Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA) notified Barrick Gold that the company had to cease construction activities at
Pascua-Lama until they complete water management system in accordance with the project's environmental permit. Barrick Gold was also fined approximately $16 million for noncompliance regarding the project's water management system.
[
]
See also
*
List of rivers of Chile
References
External links
Cuenca del Río Huasco, Dirección General de Aguas, Ministerio de Obras Públicas, Gobierno de Chile
{{Coord, 28, 26, 02, S, 71, 12, 11, W, region:CL_type:river_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title
Rivers of Atacama Region
Rivers of Chile