Calle-Calle River, also called Gudalafquén in
Mapuche language
Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
, is a river in
Valdivia Province
Valdivia Province ( es, Provincia de Valdivia; ) is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos (XIV). The provincial capital is Valdivia. Located in the province are two important rivers, the Calle-Calle / Valdivia River ...
, southern
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 ...
. It drains waters from the
San Pedro River to the
Valdivia River
The Valdivia River or Río Valdivia, as it is known locally, is a major river in southern Chile. It is the continuation of the Calle-Calle River, from the point where it meets the Cau-Cau River in the city of Valdivia. The Valdivia river ends in ...
, which in turn flows into
Corral Bay
Corral Bay is a bay in the mouth of the Valdivia River, southern Chile. Its main towns are Corral and Niebla. The mouth of the bay is between Juan Latorre point and Morro Gonzalo, with a width of 5.5 km. All the year the bay is transited b ...
on the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
.
The River owes its current name to the Mapuche word for the flower ''
Libertia chilensis''.
The Calle-Calle is among the few rivers in Chile that are considered navigable. The
Calle-Calle and
Santa Elvira bridges crosses the river in the city of
Valdivia
Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...
.
The city of Valdivia obtains most of its water supply from Calle-Calle River near Cuesta Soto.
Decreasing precipitation has caused the river to be contaminated with saline water from the coast.
The effects of saline water entering the water supply of Valdivia were particularly noticeable in 2015 when there was a surge in complains about the taste of the water.
The saltwater in the rivers near Valdivia during autumn is expected to increase in the future.[ Estimations indicate that whenever the sum of the water discharge of Cruces and Calle-Calle rivers falls below saltwater reaches the supply site at Cuesta Soto.][
]
References
Rivers of Chile
Rivers of Los Ríos Region
Rowing venues in Chile
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