Silala River (Bolivia and Chile)

The Silala or Siloli is an international river arising from springs in Bolivia and flowing naturally westward into Chile. It originates in the Potosí Department of Bolivia, on the slopes of Cerro Inacaliri and Cerro de Silala in the Andean altiplano, and after crossing the international border travels approximately 7 km through the Antofagasta Region of Chile before joining the San Pedro de Inacaliri River, a tributary of the Loa River, which ultimately discharges into the Pacific Ocean. The river's status was for many years the subject of a bilateral dispute: Bolivia maintained that the watercourse was an artificial creation, its springs redirected into Chilean territory by man-made canals, while Chile held that it was a natural international river to whose waters both countries were entitled under international law. In 2016, Chile brought the matter before the International Court of Justice in the case Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala. During proceedings, Bolivia recognised the water body as a river, reducing the controversy to the question of artificial infrastructure. On 1 December 2022, the Court ruled that the Silala is an international river and that Chile holds an equitable and reasonable right to use its waters.