Ischigualasto
The Ischigualasto nature reserve is located in the north-west of Argentina , in the far north-east of the province of San Juan . Because of its extreme dryness, it is also called Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) . It is located close to the National Park Talampaya and was jointly organized with this in 2000 by the UNESCO for World Heritage declared. Geologically, the nature reserve and the Talampaya National Park belong to the Ischigualasto Formation , which is characterized by well-preserved fossils that are around 230 million years old. Among other things, some of the oldest known dinosaur finds come from this formation .
The Ischigualasto nature reserve
The reserve covers 8,000 square kilometers and has been established to protect a desert landscape. There are many sculpture-like, curious rock formations created by erosion, which are often reminiscent of well-known objects such as the submarine , the bowling green , the mushroom and Aladdin's magic lamp , which collapsed in 1989 and was the park's landmark until then. The area is about 1,300 meters above sea level and is home to typical desert vegetation consisting of cacti and bushes, which covers about 10 to 20% of the entire area. The climate is very dry, it rains mainly during the summer months; In addition, there are strong temperature fluctuations from −10 ° C to +45 ° C.
A constant wind from the south blows at a speed of 20–40 km / h from noon to evening and is sometimes accompanied by a very strong zonda ( foehn wind ).
Unlike in the Talampaya National Park, you can explore the Ischigualasto reserve with your own car, but not alone, only with a guide. Access to the reserve is via the small town of Los Baldecitos , but a complete infrastructure is only in Villa San Agustín (67 km south). In addition to the fossil finds, the reserve is also of archaeological importance, as there are sites of pre-Columbian cultures.
Ischigualasto formation
The Ischigualasto Formation consists of the 230 million year old deposits of the Carnian (late Triassic ) and shows a unique fossil fauna consisting of primeval reptiles, the ancestors of today's mammals and dinosaurs. The most commonly found vertebrates are rhynchosaurs and cynodonts , with dinosaurs making up only 6% of the fossil fauna. Nevertheless, both great lineages of dinosaurs are represented, the Ornithischia (bird pelvis dinosaur) and the Saurischia (lizard pelvis dinosaur). The most common dinosaur found is the predatory Herrerasaurus ; Another find of great importance in understanding the early evolution of dinosaurs was discovered in the early 1990s and named Eoraptor .
At the time of the deposits, the area was a volcanically active floodplain, dominated by rivers, with heavy periodic rainfall. Petrified tree trunks of the species Protojuniperoxylon ischigualastianus suggest lush vegetation with trees over 40 meters high. Fossil ferns and horsetail have also been found.
Web links
- Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- Data sheet of the UNEP-WCMC (English)
- Parque Provincial Ischigualasto
- Ente Autárquico Ischigualasto - Official website of the park administration
Cultural heritage: Jesuit reductions of the Guaraní (1983) | Cueva de las Manos (1999) | Jesuit Bloc and Estanzias of Cordoba (2000) | Quebrada de Humahuaca (2003) | Qhapaq Ñan - Andean Road System (2014) | The architectural work of Le Corbusier : Casa Curutchet (2016)
Natural heritage: Los Glaciares National Park (1981) | Iguazú National Park (with the Iguazú waterfalls ) (1984) | Peninsula Valdés (1999) | Ischigualasto and Talampaya National Parks (2000) | Los Alerces National Park (2017)
Coordinates: 30 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ S , 68 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ W.