Amenazas de origen hídrico en Piedemonte del Gran San Juan

Abstract

The work area is a sector of the oriental piedmont of the Oriental Precordillera, west of the Gran San Juan. It comprises the departments of Pocito, Rivadavia and Capital. The climate is characterized by the scarce precipitation (<100 mm per yr), very dry air, high quantity of sun radiation hours and maximum evapotranspiration during spring/summer and minimum in autumn/winter. We identified three predominating reliefs: the mountainous precordilleran unit, the oriental piedmont of the Chica de Zonda sierra and a low relief, almost plain and slightly inclined. The hydrography is characterized by temporary regime river flows. They remain dry most of the year and only occasionally carry water during the summer from the sporadic and highly intense rainfall, originating torrential type floods that remove the dendrite material. Human action is noticeably seen in the plain areas, where the water net goes through channels and has been modified. Flush floods are one of the main hazards affecting the study zone, damaging streets, irrigation channels, bridges, homes and cultivated fields.