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Replenishment Sources of the Alluvial Aquifers of the Peruvian Coast
Author(s) -
Gilboa Yaakov
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1971.tb03559.x
Subject(s) - aquifer , geology , groundwater recharge , hydrology (agriculture) , alluvial fan , alluvium , groundwater , alluvial plain , structural basin , geomorphology , paleontology , geotechnical engineering
Ground water in the arid coastal area of Peru occurs in more than fifty alluvial aquifers. The aquifers are limited to river valleys and to nearby sedimentary plains. The coast is rainless and the river valleys serve as the drainage outlet of the western slopes of the Andes. The coastal alluvial aquifers are located below the lower limit of the active catchment areas, and are not recharged directly by precipitation. The long igneous batholith and the volcanic formations of the Andean Cordillera form an impermeable barrier which prevents the replenishment of the aquifers by underflow from the Andes. The main source of replenishment of the aquifers in the Peruvian coastal zone is river water. The water infiltrates through the river beds and irrigation canals and migrates laterally within the alluvial deposits. Another important source of recharge is return flow from irrigation. Water also enters the aquifers through boundary faults.