Hydraulic Engineering Aspects of the Chimu Chicama-Moche Intervalley Canal

Abstract

Of the many canal systems of the Chimu empire the Chicama-Moche Intervalley (La Cumbre) Canal connecting the Chicama and Moche valleys represents the highest level of technical achievement. This paper examines the engineering skills of the Chimu as revealed by computer analysis of the open channel flow design techniques they utilized. Analysis of agricultural strategies made possible by this canal and the surveying skills inherent to its use are examined in detail. The presence of many trial canal paths toward the distal end of the canal indicate extreme difficulty in overcoming tectonically induced ground-slope changes caused by fault lines near the intervalley divide. The canal was abandoned prior to completion of construction and thus never served to supply the Moche Valley with Chicama water.