The Lluta River is a river located in the northern portion of the

Arica y Parinacota Region The Arica y Parinacota Region ( es, link=no, Región de Arica y Parinacota ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Bolivi ...

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 ...

. Its headwaters are on the western flanks of the Andes of the

Parinacota Province Parinacota Province ( es, Provincia de Parinacota) is one of two provinces of the Chilean region of Arica y Parinacota. Its capital is Putre. It is named after the Parinacota Volcano. History Arica y Parinacota Region was created on October 8 ...

, just a few kilometers south of the border with

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, and empties into 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 ...

at the village of Villa Frontera, about 4 km north of the city of

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capi ...

Course

The Lluta originates at the confluence of the ''Quebrada Caracarani'' (which rises from the slopes of the Tacora volcano) and the ''Azufre River'', at an elevation about 3,900 m asl. Along its first 36 km, the river flows southeast and then slowly begins to turn towards the west. In its descent to the lower elevations of the valley, the river starts to run through a canyon carved by the same river in rhyolite tuffs and other sediments scarcely joined. In the vicinity of ''Socoroma'', the river turns directly west and just past the canyon terminus, the river begins to widen. In ''Chironta'', about 70 km from the sea, appear the first farms, whose foods are of a great importance for the consume of local people. Finally, the river empties into Pacific Ocean at an extensive beach, just a few kilometers north of

. The hydrologic regime of the river basin is rain-dominated. The increase of its water volume occurs mainly in January and February, as a consequence of the phenomenon known as

Bolivian Winter Bolivian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Bolivia ** Bolivian people ** Demographics of Bolivia ** Culture of Bolivia * SS ''Bolivian'', a British-built standard cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries ...

. Under the Chilean proposal of 1975 to resolve the

Atacama border dispute The Atacama border dispute is a dispute between Chile and Bolivia that stems from the transfer of the Bolivian Coast and the southern tip of Peru to Chile in the 19th century through the Treaty of Ancón with Peru and the Treaty of Peace an ...

, the Lluta River would have become the northern border of Chile, and Bolivia would control the narrow strip between the river and the southern border of Peru.

Water quality

Apart from its problems of salinity and acidity, the river has very elevated levels of

boron Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the ''boron group'' it has th ...

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

, and

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ...

, among other pollutants, which restricts the agricultural activities that can be developed along the river banks. The river water is used only for irrigation of pastureland and crops which tolerate poor water quality, such as onions and potatoes.

References

*This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, accessed March 31, 2007. * {{coord, 18, 24, 55, S, 70, 19, 35, W, region:CL_type:waterbody_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Rivers of Arica y Parinacota Region Lluta