Abstract

Agricultural and municipal water supply interests in Chile rely heavily on streams which flow from the Andes Mountains. The highly productive Copiapo agricultural region, on the southern edge of the Atacama Desert, is a major supplier of fruit and other crops for the Northern American market during winter. This region relies entirely on snow and icemelt streams to provide irrigation water. Santiago, the Chilean capitol, is the country's major metropolitan area with a population of 5.5 million. Rainfall that averages 330 mm/year is nearly twice that of Phoenix.