Canal Uchusuma is a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

in Chile.

Geography

The canal begins at the northeastern foot of Cerro Huancune on the Uchusuma River, a principal tributary of the

Mauri River The Mauri River is a river of Bolivia and Peru. It rises on the frontier between Chile and Bolivia near Charaña and flows east-northeast for about 100 km where it joins the Desaguadero. In fact the Mauri is much larger than the Desaguadero ...

; the diversion occurs at the locality ''Ancochaullanta'' at elevation. The path of the canal takes it southeastward through Peruvian territory until the Peru-Chile border at Laguna Blanca. It continues through Chilean territory from Laguna Blanca along the

Arica–La Paz railway The Arica–La Paz railway or Ferrocarril de Arica–La Paz (FCALP) is a railway built by the Chilean government under the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia. It was inaugurated on 13 May 1913 and is the shortest ...

southwestward between the mountains

Tacora Tacora is a stratovolcano located in the Andes of the Arica y Parinacota Region of Chile. Near the border with Peru, it is one of the northernmost volcanoes of Chile. It is part of the Central Volcanic Zone in Chile, one of the four volcanic bel ...

and Caracarani, close to the Canal Mauri. It turns around Tacora's southern flank to its western side while following a low-altitude

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

, crosses the Rio Azufre westward and then the border between Chile and Peru. In Peru it continues southwestward and ends between the mountains of Cerro Huaylillas and Cerro Chulluncane into the Rio Yungane. It does so by crossing the mountains through the Huaylillas Norte tunnel. The Rio Yungane subsequently joins the Quebrada Vilavilani. The Quebrada Vilavilani descends the Andes in southwestward direction, where it has several different names, and ends close to the city of

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

into the

Caplina River The Caplina River (''Rio Caplina'') is a river in southern Peru. It runs through the city Tacna, after which it gets dry due to filtration, evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the Interface (chemistry), sur ...

History

This canal was constructed in 1820. There were numerous projects to expand the canal system to more water sources in the Mauri, and the Canal Mauri was constructed in 1954. According to a report in 1977, the Canal Uchusuma is still used when the other canal is under maintenance.

References

Sources

* Chile–Peru border Buildings and structures in Arica y Parinacota Region Canals in Chile Irrigation canals Irrigation in Chile Canals in Peru Irrigation in Peru {{Peru-struct-stub