San Pedro de Inacaliri River

San Pedro de Inacaliri River

San Pedro volcano looking south to San Pedro River
Mouth Loa River
Basin countries Chile
Length 76 km
Avg. discharge 0.2 m³/s
Basin area 9,850 km²

San Pedro de Inacaliri River, or called simply San Pedro River, is a river of Chile located in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It begins at the confluence of the rivers Silala and Cajón, at an elevation over 4,000 m asl.

A part of its flow is diverted (between 50 and 60 l/s) and conducted across the desert to Chuquicamata for domestic water supply. About 8 km south, the waters of the river disappear in a floodplain area to reappear 15 km downstream at the so-called Ojos del San Pedro in the form of a partially overground stream, at the eastern border of a salt flat with a surface of 5 km².

Loa and its afluents San Pedro, Silala and Salado Rivers

Before discharging into Loa River, the river skirts the San Pedro volcano, where it has carved a 100-m-deep canyon through a rhyolite lava flow.

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