Abstract

The change in productive land use in the Copiapó valley began in the mid seventies, with an increase in the area planted with bush vines in the order of 236%. This has meant the introduction of significant morphological changes, exceeding in many places the morphodynamic thresholds, and generating impacts on the morphology dynamic. These impacts are significant in terms of increased vulnerability to mass removal occurring in episodes of heavy rains associated with the Niño years, with hazard for the resident population and agricultural workers, and in generating significant loss of infrastructure. We present the case of Nantoco basin, a sub-basin of the river Copiapó, which has experienced a notorious human intervention over the past three decades and which was analyzed in reference to its current morphodinamic behavior and the magnitude of its intervention.