The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Loa
(l´ä) (KEY) , longest river of Chile, 275 mi (443 km) long, flowing S from the Andes, N Chile, then W and N through the Atacama Desert, before turning W to the Pacific Ocean. It is not navigable but affords some water supply and hydroelectric power for copper and nitrate-mining communities in its vicinity.