The Baker River is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. It is Chile's largest river in terms of volume of water. The river flows out of

Bertrand Lake Bertrand Lake is a Chilean lake located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. It is separated from Plomo Lake by a terminal moraine and is flanked on the west by the summits of the ''Cordón Contreras''. The village of Puert ...

, which is fed by

General Carrera Lake General Carrera Lake (Chilean part, officially renamed in 1959) or Lake Buenos Aires (Argentine part) is a deep lake located in Patagonia and shared by Argentina and Chile. Both names are internationally accepted, while the autochthonous name of ...

. It runs along the east side of the

Northern Patagonian Ice Field The Northern Patagonian Ice Field, located in southern Chile, is the smaller of two remnant parts in which the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the Andes Mountains of southern South America can be divided. It is completely contained within the boundaries ...

and empties into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, near the town of Caleta Tortel. The river forms a

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

, dividing into two major arms, of which only the northernmost one is navigable. Its characteristic turquoise-blue color is due to the glacial sediments deposited in it. It was the proposed site of a controversial major hydro-electric project, involving five dams, to be the biggest in the history of Chile. Called

HidroAysén HidroAysén (Pronounced: ) was a controversial megaproject that aimed to build five hydroelectric power plants in Chile's Aysén Region, two on the Baker River and three on the Pascua River (with government subvention included to help relief c ...

, the project was a joint venture between Endesa Chile a subsidiary of the international energy conglomerate

Enel Enel S.p.A. is an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel was first established as a public body at the end of 1962, and then transformed into a limited company in 1992. In 1999, following the liberali ...

, and Colbún S.A. a subsidiary of Minera Valparaíso. The series of hydro-electric dams were proposed along both the Baker and Pascua rivers, two of Chile's mightiest rivers. The project was opposed by a protest campaign led by Chilean and international environmental activist groups. Few rivers this large in the world remain undammed and free flowing. Chile's Committee of Ministers overturned the environmental permits for the HidroAysén dam project June 2014.

Tributaries

The river also receives the waters of the

Cochrane Lake Cochrane may refer to: Places Australia *Cochrane railway station, Sydney, a railway station on the closed Ropes Creek railway line Canada * Cochrane, Alberta * Cochrane Lake, Alberta * Cochrane District, Ontario ** Cochrane, Ontario, a town wit ...

through the Cochrane River. Other major tributaries are: *

Nef River The Nef River is a river of Chile. The river has its source at a proglacial lake, which is feed by Nef Glacier. It flows in a generally easterly direction until it discharges into the Baker River. See also *List of rivers of Chile This list of ...

* Chacabuco River * Del Salto River * Colonia River * De los Ñadis River * Ventisquero River * Vargas River

Gallery

Image:Río Baker 02.jpg,

Kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

is a popular sport on the river. Image:Río Baker, sector Balsa Baker.jpg, Winter 2006

References

External links

Hidrografía Región de Aysén
Sistema Integrado de Información Territorial
Endesa Opponents Call Foul
The Santiago Times Rivers of Chile Rivers of Aysén Region {{Chile-river-stub