Huasco River is a river of Chile located in the Huasco Province , Atacama Region . Its headwaters in the upper catchments in high-altitude Andes glaciers are the Estrecho River, a tributary of El Tránsito River (catchment area 4,135 km2), and Potrerillos River, a tributary of El Carmen River (catchment area 2 890 km2). The Huasco River begins at the confluence of El Tránsito River and El Carmen River which is located in Junta del Carmen (790ma.s.l.). A small portion of its course is impounded by a dam forming the Embalse Santa Juana .
7-604: Cities and towns along the Huasco include: Vallenar , Freirina and Huasco . The inhabitants of the Huasco valley, a semi-arid region, depend on water resources from the upper catchments in high-altitude Andes glaciers which contribution to the discharge of two Huasco River headwaters: the Estrecho River and the Potrerillos River which arise from two small neighboring catchments, they actually belong to two major subcatchments of
14-619: A "striking example of climate change impacts." Concerns have been raised that the Andean glaciers, particularly Toro 1, Toro 2 and Esperanza, were endangered by the Pascua Lama project. In May 2013, Chile's Superintendence of the Environment Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA) notified Barrick Gold that the company had to cease construction activities at Pascua-Lama until they complete water management system in accordance with
21-457: Is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Cristian Tapia Ramos. Within the electoral divisions of Chile , Vallenar is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Alberto Robles ( PRSD ) and Mr. Giovanni Calderón ( UDI ) as part of the 6th electoral district, (together with Caldera , Tierra Amarilla , Freirina , Huasco and Alto del Carmen ). The commune is represented in
28-571: Is located in the valley of the Huasco River . Vallenar has 52,000 inhabitants. Its main activities are farming and mining. It was founded as San Ambrosio de Ballenary by Ambrose O'Higgins in 1789, after his birthplace in Ballynary in County Sligo , Ireland . Llanos de Challe National Park is located 60 km (37 mi) northwest of the city of Vallenar. According to the 2002 census by
35-475: The National Statistics Institute , Vallenar had 48,040 inhabitants (23,284 men and 24,756 women). Of these, 43,750 (91.1%) lived in urban areas and 4,290 (8.9%) in rural areas . The population grew by 1.7% (792 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. As a commune, Vallenar is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council , headed by an alcalde who
42-716: The Huasco Basin. A collaborative study between the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA) and the Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE) investigated the glacier contribution to the Huasco River basins by two glaciated headwater catchments which included the monitoring of five Andean glaciers (Toro 1, Toro 2, Esperanza, Guanaco, Estrecho and Ortigas) between 2003/2004 and 2007/2008 hydrological years. The Andean "glaciers accelerated retreat" represents
49-532: The project's environmental permit. Barrick Gold was also fined approximately $ 16 million for noncompliance regarding the project's water management system. 28°26′02″S 71°12′11″W / 28.43389°S 71.20306°W / -28.43389; -71.20306 Vallenar, Chile Vallenar is a city and commune in Atacama Region , Chile . It is the capital of the Huasco Province and
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