Rio Salado is a tributary of the Río Loa — Chile's longest river at 440 kilometers — flowing through the high-altitude desert landscape of the Antofagasta Region at approximately 23°S latitude in northern Chile. This remote, subsaline river cuts through one of the most arid and geologically dramatic environments on the continent, where the Atacama Desert meets the Andean highlands. The river's unique chemistry and extreme setting make it a genuinely unusual fishery, supporting both introduced salmonid species in its upper reaches and a sparse but resilient aquatic ecosystem shaped by the region's harsh conditions.