The Lauca River is a binational river. It originates in 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 ...

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...

of the Arica and Parinacota Region, crosses the Andes and empties into Coipasa Lake in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. The upper reach of the river lies within the boundaries of Lauca National Park in the

Parinacota Province Parinacota Province () 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, 2007 under Law 20.175, promu ...

. The Lauca receives waters from a group of lakes known as Quta Qutani through the Desaguadero River. In this area, there is a type of marsh known as Parinacota wetlands, in which converge several streams, being the more important the river just mentioned, which has a variable flow rate ranging from 100 to 560 L/s, and an average of 260 L/s. From its source in the Parinacota wetlands the river flows west. The spurs of the ''Cordillera Central'' (also known as ''Chapiquiña'') form an obstacle impossible to pass through, forcing the river's course southward. In the vicinity of Wallatiri volcano, the Lauca turns again, now eastward crossing from Chile into Bolivia at the latitude of ''Macaya'', at an elevation of 3,892 m asl and with a flow rate about 2,6 m³/s. In Chile the river drains an area of 2,350 km².Cuenca del río Lauca
In the Bolivian Altiplano, the Lauca collects the waters of the rivers Sajama and Coipasa, raising its flow rate up to 8 m³/s before turning south to empty into Coipasa Lake, close to the salt flat of the same name. During the 1930s, the Chilean government begun to use the hydrical resources of Lauca river for irrigation in the Azapa Valley, generating a complaint from Bolivian government who argued that Chilean authorities were altering the course of an international river. Chile answered that the natural course of the river was not modified, but the works executed were related to the use of waters in the Parinacota wetlands, which not affect the total water flow of the Lauca in its course to Bolivia. The litigation between both countries, started in 1939, caused diplomatic tension until the 1960s.TERENCE R. LEE
The Management of Shared Water Resources in Latin America
page , retrieved on 15 June 2012

References

*This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, accessed March 31, 2007. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lauca Rivers of Bolivia Rivers of Oruro Department Rivers of La Paz Department (Bolivia) Rivers of Chile Rivers of Arica y Parinacota Region Rivers of Tarapacá Region International rivers of South America