Loa River

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The River Loa is the Chile's longest river, having its sources on the slopes of the Andes south of the Miño Volcano, between 21° and 21° 30' S. lat., and flowing south on an elevated plateau to Chiu Chiu, and thence west and north in a great curve to Quillagua, whence its dry channel turns westward again and reaches the Pacific in lat. 21° 26' S., a few miles south of the old port of Huanillos. Its total length is estimated at 273 mi. The upper courses of the river are at a considerable elevation above the sea and receive a large volume of water from the Andes. The water of its upper course and tributaries is sweet, and is conducted across the desert in pipes to some of the coast towns, but in its lower course, as in all the rivers of this region, it becomes brackish. The river runs through the city of Calama.

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This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.