The Cruces River () is a river in south-central Chile. Río Cruces originates from hills near the Villarica volcano and flows then in south-west direction. The southern and final part of the river flows in a south-south-west direction following the eastern flank of Cordillera de Oncol. At the latitude of 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 ...

it is crossed by

Río Cruces Bridge Río Cruces Bridge is a triangular bridge spanning Cruces River that unites Isla Teja from Torobayo, a sub-urban area of Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of V ...

next to its outflow into Valdivia River. The

1960 Valdivia earthquake The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami () or the Great Chilean earthquake (''Gran terremoto de Chile'') occurred on 22 May 1960. Most studies have placed it at 9.5–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale, while some studies have placed the magnitu ...

caused c. 2 m of subsidence around Valdivia. As a result of this, a large area of former pastures and cultivated fields around the lower course of Cruces River was permanently flooded.Ramirez, C., E. Carrasco, S. Mariani & N. Palacios. 2006. La desaparición del luchecillo (Egeria densa) del Santuario del Rio Cruces (Valdivia, Chile): una hipótesis plausible. Ciencia & Trabajo, 20: 79-86 Over the years the new wetlands were colonized chiefly by '' Egeria densa'' (). ''Egeria densa'' and other aquatic plants created a rich

aquatic ecosystem An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environ ...

that attracted a permanent bird fauna, notably black-necked swans. The protected area of Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary was created in 1981 to protect the ecosystem. Coincident with the opening of the Valdivia Pulp Mill in 2004 there was a sharp decline of the black-necked swan population in the wetlands of the lower course of Cruces River. An estimated 96.4% of the black-necked swan population died or migrated in about six months.Delgado, L.E., V.H. Marin, P.L. Bachmann & M. Torres-Gómez. 2009. Conceptual models for ecosystem management through the participation of local social actors: the Rio Cruces wetland conflict. '' Ecology and Society'', 14(1): 50. URL

/ref> The event unleashed a large

environmental conflict Environmental conflicts, socio-environmental conflict or ecological distribution conflicts (EDCs) are social conflicts caused by environmental degradation or by Environmental justice, unequal distribution of environmental resources. The Environm ...

between citizens of Valdivia and nearby areas and Celulosa Arauco y Constitución, the owner of the pulp mill. A decline of the ''Egeria densa'' that swans feed on has been linked to the death and migration of the swans. A 2020 study indicate that whenever the sum of the water discharge of Cruces and Calle-Calle rivers falls below saltwater reaches

's water supply site at Cuesta Soto in Calle-Calle River. Such events tend to happen in autumn and are expected to become more frequent in the future due to a trend of diminished rainfall.

Soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

s around the lower course of the river are trumaos and red clay soils.

Gallery

File:Confluencia_Río_Cruces_Río_Valdivia.jpg, Aerial view of Cruces River at its confluence with Valdivia River File:Valdivia_Vista.JPG, View of Valdivia from the western side of Cruces River

References

{{coord, 39, 42, 26, S, 73, 11, 51, W, display=title Rivers of Chile Rivers of Los Ríos Region

Gallery

See also

References