Baker River (Chile)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baker River
Baker River in the Aysén Region
Origin Bertrand Lake
Mouth Baker Channel, Pacific Ocean
Basin countries Chile/Argentina
Length 170 km [1]
Source elevation 200 m [1]
Avg. discharge 870 cubic metres per second (31,000 cu ft/s)[2]
Basin area 26,726 km² [1]

The Baker River is a river located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of the Chilean Patagonia. It is Chile's largest river in terms of volume of water. The river flows out of Bertrand Lake, which is fed by General Carrera Lake. It runs along the east side of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field and empties into the Pacific Ocean, near the town of Caleta Tortel. The river forms a delta, 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 is the proposed site of a controversial hydro-electric project,to be the biggest in the history of Chile. The generator and its 2,400 megawatt power would wholly owned by Hidroaysen, a subsidiary the international energy conglomerate Endesa/Enel, whose plans to construct five massive hydroelectric dams along the Baker and Pascua rivers, two of Chile's mightiest rivers, are currently (as of March 2013), are under protest by Chilean and international environmental activist groups.[3][4] Few rivers this large in the world remain undammed and free flowing.[3]

Tributaries

The river also receives the waters of the Cochrane Lake through the Cochrane River. Other major tributaries are:

Gallery

  • Kayaking is a popular sport on the river.

  • Winter 2006

See also

Rivers
Lakes
Glaciers

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Río Baker
  2. ↑ Baker-Pascua Project, accessed 2010-06-17
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 whypatagonia_mtp_megadams.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/where-rivers-run-free-1670

External links

Coordinates: 47°01′24″S 72°49′47″W / 47.02333°S 72.82972°W / -47.02333; -72.82972


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.