Loa Mouth

The Loa reaches the Pacific after crossing the Atacama Desert, bringing water from the Andes to one of the driest coasts in the world. A burial mound at the river mouth yielded a miniature crescent-shaped raft made of reeds, placed there as an offering around the third century. Farther upriver, the oasis of Quillagua linked the Loa valley with routes across the desert interior.