View of Pica town and oasis in the foreground from the southeast. In the background the flat land of Pampa del Tamarugal can be seen.
Pica Aquifer (Spanish: acuífero de Pica) located in Tarapacá Region of northern Chile is one of the most important aquifers of Atacama Desert. The water of the aquifer is tapped by a system of underground aqueducts known as puquios to irrigate the oases of Pica and Matilla.[1] The uppermost part of the aquifer is within loosely consolidated alluvial and aeolian sediments deposited in the Quaternary period.[1] The recharge zone of Pica Aquifer is estimated to lie between ~3,000 and 4,000 meters above sea level.[2]
As nearby oasis Puquio de Núñez taps the Pampa del Tamarugal Aquifer it is thought that the hydraulic divide between the aquifers of Pampa del Tamarugal and Pica should be between Puquio de Núñez and Matilla.[2] It is not known if the waters of Pica Aquifer flow into Pampa del Tamarugal Aquifer as these two aquifers are separated by the Longacho fault line.[2] While this fault may deviate and block part of the flow a 2012 study showed a hydraulic gradient from Matilla to west suggesting that water from Pica Aquifer flow into Pampa del Tamarugal Aquifer.[2]
^ abLictevout, Elizabeth; Abellanosa, Carlos; Maass, Constanza; Pérez, Nicolás; Gonzalo, Yáñez; Véronique, Leonardi Véronique (2020). "Exploration, mapping and characterization of filtration galleries of the Pica Oasis, northern Chile: A contribution to the knowledge of the Pica aquifer". Andean Geology. 47 (3): 529–558. doi:10.5027/andgeoV47n3-3272.
^ abcdBustamante, Oscar; Tilling, Adam; Payacan, Sergio; Soto, Bárbara; Nicol, Chris (2012-12-01). Levantamiento de información hidrogeológica para la modelación del acuífero de Pica, cuenca de la Pampa del Tamarugal, Región de Tarapacá (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Vol. S.I.T. N° 294. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
PicaAquifer (Spanish: acuífero de Pica) located in Tarapacá Region of northern Chile is one of the most important aquifers of Atacama Desert. The water...
oases of Pica and Matilla taps the PicaAquifer it is thought that the hydraulic divide between the aquifers of Pampa del Tamarugal and Pica should be...
System Hamza River Pampa del Tamarugal AquiferPicaAquifer Purapurani Aquifer Valle de Pan de Azúcar Aquifer San Diego County Water Authority - Water...
due to economic and social changes. The puquios of Pica-Matilla and Puquio Núñez tap the PicaAquifer. The puquios of the Nazca (or Nasca) region are of...
characterization of filtration galleries of the Pica Oasis, northern Chile: A contribution to the knowledge of the Picaaquifer". Andean Geology. 47 (3): 529–558....
states of decay. These aqueducts are locally known as socavones and tap PicaAquifer. In the late 19th century its inhabitants were prone to suffer typhus...
characterization of filtration galleries of the Pica Oasis, northern Chile: A contribution to the knowledge of the Picaaquifer". Andean Geology. 47 (3): 529–558....
characterization of filtration galleries of the Pica Oasis, northern Chile: A contribution to the knowledge of the Picaaquifer". Andean Geology. 47 (3): 529–558....
Three birds are nearly endemic to the ecoregion – the yellow-billed magpie (Pica nuttalli), tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor), and Nuttall's woodpecker...
climate change on the salar. There may be connections between these aquifers and these of Pica west of Salar del Huasco. The Collacagua River enters Salar del...
Jerusalem, plus one-third of the coastline. The highlands contain the major aquifers of Palestine, which supplied water to the coastal cities of central Palestine...
hot springs registered in Chile. North Zone, Chile, Atacama Desert Mamiña Pica Puritama Socos El Tatio Central Zone, Chile, near Santiago Cauquenes Chillán...
domesticus), scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica), and Yellow-billed magpies (Pica nuttalli), but also in apple, blueberry, and grape, and the American Robin...
the Atacama increased; wetlands developed at Salar de Punta Negra; the "Pica glass" formed in the Atacama as a consequence of increased vegetation and...
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