Río Salado (Potosí)

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Río Salado
Data
location Bolivia
River system Río Grande de Lípez
Drain over Río Grande de Lípez  → Salar de Uyuni
origin Cerro Lípez
21 ° 54 ′ 29 ″  S , 66 ° 52 ′ 40 ″  W.
Source height 5290  m
muzzle Río Grande de Lípez Coordinates: 21 ° 40 ′ 17 ″  S , 67 ° 3 ′ 5 ″  W 21 ° 40 ′ 17 ″  S , 67 ° 3 ′ 5 ″  W.
Mouth height 3900  m
Height difference 1390 m
Bottom slope 34 ‰
length 41 km
Navigable No
Climate diagram San Antonio de Lipez

The Río Salado is an endorheic river in the Andes high mountains of southern Bolivia .

The river has a total length of only 41 kilometers and is one of the headwaters of the Río Grande de Lípez . It flows from south to north through the canton of San Antonio de Lípez in the district ( Bolivian : Municipio ) of San Pablo de Lípez in the province of Sur Lípez in the Department of Potosí . The source region of the river lies at an altitude of almost 5,300 m on the northeast slope of the snow and ice-covered Cerro Lípez (5929 m).

The Río Salado flows past the mining settlement of San Antonio de Lípez , but otherwise through largely unpopulated area. After 41 kilometers it joins the Río Guadalupe to the Río Grande de Lípez , which flows 153 km downstream into the Salar de Uyuni (also Salar de Tunupa ), with more than 10,000 km² the largest salt lake on earth.

The region suffers from great drought for much of the year, the annual precipitation is very low at 150 mm (see climate diagram San Antonio de Lípez): it has less than 5 mm monthly average from April to October, only falling in the southern summer months of November to March significant rainfall, so that the river only carries water periodically. Despite the low annual average temperature just above freezing point, due to the proximity to the equator, there is a high level of solar radiation during the day, so that the average daily maximum temperature during the year is between 6 and 11 ° C; this creates an above-average level of evaporation in the midday hours and the proportion of mineral salts dissolved in the water increases, which explains the name of the river (Río Salado = salt river ).

In addition, scientific studies over the past few decades show that a significant part of the surface water does not come from the scant rainfall in the region, but is deep water from aquiferous rock layers that have accumulated over the past decades. A study by I. Chaffaut assumes that more than 90 percent of the surface water comes from these deep water reservoirs and is irretrievably lost through the superficial runoff.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ I. Chaffaut 1998. precipitations d'altitude, Eaux souterraines et changements de climatiques L'Altiplano North chilien. Université Paris, 1998 ( French )
  2. ↑ SERGEOMIN, “Estudio de las cuencas hidrograficas de la Cordillera Occidental y del Altiplano”. 2001 ( Spanish )