Rivers

From the Andes, transverse rivers flow generally west toward the Pacific; in the desert north, they rarely reach the sea, but even then they often provide ample irrigation water. From Santiago south, several carry enough flow for good to world-class white-water rafting and kayaking, and some still irrigate the fields of the Mediterranean Valle Central.

The largest and most important rivers are the Biobío, whose lower stretches are navigable (its upper basin, once a magnet for white-water daredevils, now lies mostly submerged beneath hydroelectric reservoirs); the Futaleufú [1], still providing recreational thrills but also threatened with major dam projects; and the remote but equally threatened Baker, which carries the largest flow of any Chilean river.