Lluta River

Lluta River
Lluta Valley
Mouth	Pacific Ocean
Basin countries	Chile
Length	147 km
Source elevation	3,900 m
Avg. discharge	2.3 m³/s
Basin area	3,400 km²

The Lluta River is a river located in the northern part of the Arica and Parinacota Region of Chile. Its headwaters are on the western flanks of the Andes of the Parinacota Province, just a few kilometers south of the border with Peru, and empties into Pacific Ocean about 4 km north of the city of Arica.

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 begins slowly to turn towards the west. In its descent to the valley floor, 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 direct 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 of Arica.

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.

References

• This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, accessed March 31, 2007.
• Niemeyer, Hans; Cereceda, Pilar (1983). Geografía de Chile — Tomo VIII: Hidrografía (1º edición, Santiago de Chile: Instituto Geográfico Militar ed.).