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The salt covers a surface of about {{convert|50|-|60|km2}}{{sfn|Blin|Hausner|Leray|Lowry|2022|p=4}} with a roughly rectangular shape, the long sides extending northwest-southeast.{{sfn|Acosta|Custodio|2008|p=36}} The component salts are mostly [[sodium chloride]] and [[sodium]] [[sulfate]].{{sfn|Garcés Millas|López Julián|2013|p=110}} The salt flat is covered by an intricate web of canals and lagoons, which constitute areas with distinct flora and fauna.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=68}} Open water covers an area fluctuating{{sfn|Farías|2020|p=124}} around {{convert|2.5|km2}}{{sfn|Acosta|Custodio|2008|p=39}} mostly in the form of three waterbodies{{sfn|Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo|Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo|2002|p=7}} {{convert|5|-|15|cm}} deep.{{sfn|Blin|Hausner|Leray|Lowry|2022|p=3}} The largest of these, Laguna del Huasco{{sfn|Sielfeld|Amado|Herreros|Peredo|1996|p=18}} or Laguna Grande, borders the salar on its western and southern side.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=68}} Numerous [[spring]]s surround the salar and form [[wetland]]s and water-filled ponds.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=68}} Some waterbodies are filled with saltwater, others with fresh water.{{sfn|Sielfeld|Amado|Herreros|Peredo|1996|p=18}} The lowest altitude of the salar is about {{convert|3770|m}}.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=5}} Two flat plains border it to the north and east, respectively: The Pampa Sillillica and the Pampa Rinconada.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=23}}
The salt covers a surface of about {{convert|50|-|60|km2}}{{sfn|Blin|Hausner|Leray|Lowry|2022|p=4}} with a roughly rectangular shape, the long sides extending northwest-southeast.{{sfn|Acosta|Custodio|2008|p=36}} The component salts are mostly [[sodium chloride]] and [[sodium]] [[sulfate]].{{sfn|Garcés Millas|López Julián|2013|p=110}} The salt flat is covered by an intricate web of canals and lagoons, which constitute areas with distinct flora and fauna.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=68}} Open water covers an area fluctuating{{sfn|Farías|2020|p=124}} around {{convert|2.5|km2}}{{sfn|Acosta|Custodio|2008|p=39}} mostly in the form of three waterbodies{{sfn|Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo|Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo|2002|p=7}} {{convert|5|-|15|cm}} deep.{{sfn|Blin|Hausner|Leray|Lowry|2022|p=3}} The largest of these, Laguna del Huasco{{sfn|Sielfeld|Amado|Herreros|Peredo|1996|p=18}} or Laguna Grande, borders the salar on its western and southern side.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=68}} Numerous [[spring]]s surround the salar and form [[wetland]]s and water-filled ponds.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=68}} Some waterbodies are filled with saltwater, others with fresh water.{{sfn|Sielfeld|Amado|Herreros|Peredo|1996|p=18}} The lowest altitude of the salar is about {{convert|3770|m}}.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=5}} Two flat plains border it to the north and east, respectively: The Pampa Sillillica and the Pampa Rinconada.{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=23}}


In prehistorical times, a large lake formed at Salar del Huasco{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=60}} and left [[shoreline]]s around the basin.{{sfn|Bowman|1924|p=25}} People visited the lake during the high water level stage.{{sfn|Bowman|1909|p=272}} When it evaporated, it left the salts now in Salar del Huasco.{{sfn|Garcés Millas|López Julián|2013|p=110}}
In prehistorical times, a large lake formed at Salar del Huasco{{sfn|Muñoz|2009|p=60}} and left [[tufa]] deposits{{sfn|Brüggen|1929|p=5}} and [[shoreline]]s around the basin.{{sfn|Bowman|1924|p=25}} A [[wave-cut terrace]] lies about {{convert|30|m}} elevation above the salar.{{sfn|Brüggen|1929|p=5}} People visited the lake during the high water level stage.{{sfn|Bowman|1909|p=272}} When it evaporated, it left the salts now in Salar del Huasco.{{sfn|Garcés Millas|López Julián|2013|p=110}}


== Geology and watershed ==
== Geology and watershed ==
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* {{cite journal |last1=Bowman |first1=Isaiah |title=Man and Climatic Change in South America |journal=The Geographical Journal |date=1909 |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=267–278 |doi=10.2307/1776900 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1776900 |issn=0016-7398}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bowman |first1=Isaiah |title=Man and Climatic Change in South America |journal=The Geographical Journal |date=1909 |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=267–278 |doi=10.2307/1776900 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1776900 |issn=0016-7398}}
* {{cite book|via=[[:File:Isaiah Bowman - Desert Trails of Atacama (1924).pdf]]|title=Desert trails of Atacama|first=I|last=Bowman|year=1924|publisher=American Geographical Society}}
* {{cite book|via=[[:File:Isaiah Bowman - Desert Trails of Atacama (1924).pdf]]|title=Desert trails of Atacama|first=I|last=Bowman|year=1924|publisher=American Geographical Society}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Brüggen |first1=J. |title=Zur Glazialgeologie der chilenischen Anden |journal=Geologische Rundschau |date=April 1929 |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=1–35 |doi=10.1007/bf01805072 |url=https://link-springer-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/10.1007/BF01805072 |language=en}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Castro-Severyn |first1=Juan |last2=Pardo-Esté |first2=Coral |last3=Mendez |first3=Katterinne N. |last4=Fortt |first4=Jonathan |last5=Marquez |first5=Sebastian |last6=Molina |first6=Franck |last7=Castro-Nallar |first7=Eduardo |last8=Remonsellez |first8=Francisco |last9=Saavedra |first9=Claudia P. |title=Living to the High Extreme: Unraveling the Composition, Structure, and Functional Insights of Bacterial Communities Thriving in the Arsenic-Rich Salar de Huasco Altiplanic Ecosystem |journal=Microbiology Spectrum |date=3 September 2021 |volume=9 |issue=1 |doi=10.1128/Spectrum.00444-21 |url=https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/spectrum.00444-21 |language=en |issn=2165-0497}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Castro-Severyn |first1=Juan |last2=Pardo-Esté |first2=Coral |last3=Mendez |first3=Katterinne N. |last4=Fortt |first4=Jonathan |last5=Marquez |first5=Sebastian |last6=Molina |first6=Franck |last7=Castro-Nallar |first7=Eduardo |last8=Remonsellez |first8=Francisco |last9=Saavedra |first9=Claudia P. |title=Living to the High Extreme: Unraveling the Composition, Structure, and Functional Insights of Bacterial Communities Thriving in the Arsenic-Rich Salar de Huasco Altiplanic Ecosystem |journal=Microbiology Spectrum |date=3 September 2021 |volume=9 |issue=1 |doi=10.1128/Spectrum.00444-21 |url=https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/spectrum.00444-21 |language=en |issn=2165-0497}}
* {{cite report|language=es|title=Proyecto CHI/01/G36. Conservación de la biodiversidad y manejo sustentable del Salar del Huasco: Plan detallado de trabajo|author1=Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo|author2=Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo|date=April 2002|publisher=Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo|url=http://biblioteca.cehum.org/handle/123456789/761}}
* {{cite report|language=es|title=Proyecto CHI/01/G36. Conservación de la biodiversidad y manejo sustentable del Salar del Huasco: Plan detallado de trabajo|author1=Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo|author2=Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo|date=April 2002|publisher=Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo|url=http://biblioteca.cehum.org/handle/123456789/761}}

Revision as of 18:52, 6 February 2024

Salar del Huasco National Park
LocationTarapacá Region, Chile
Coordinates20°18′S 68°50′W / 20.300°S 68.833°W / -20.300; -68.833
Area1,100.49 km2 (424.90 sq mi)
DesignationRamsar Site (1996), National Park (2010 or 2020)
Established2023
Official nameSalar del Huasco
Designated2 December 1996
Reference no.874[1]

Salar del Huasco is a salt flat dotted with ponds and salt marshes, and seasonally partially covered with water, in northern Chile. It is the centerpiece of the recently created Salar del Huasco National Park and was designated Ramsar Site 874 on 2 December 1996.[2] The area has a significant population of flamingos.[2]

The salt flat is probably bordered by a fault on its western side, and a river delta forms much of its northern edge; it is now crisscrossed by stream channels. In the Pleistocene the salt flat was covered by a lake that was identified through its clay and diatomite sediments and which has left well preserved shorelines and terraces.[3]

Lake

Salar del Huasco is in Pica commune,[4] Iquique province,Tarapaca Region[5] of northern Chile, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Iquique. The area is largely uninhabited[6] owing to its harsh climate.[7] The Chilean roads A-687 and A-685 pass close to Salar del Huasco.[8]

The salt covers a surface of about 50–60 square kilometres (19–23 sq mi)[9] with a roughly rectangular shape, the long sides extending northwest-southeast.[10] The component salts are mostly sodium chloride and sodium sulfate.[11] The salt flat is covered by an intricate web of canals and lagoons, which constitute areas with distinct flora and fauna.[12] Open water covers an area fluctuating[13] around 2.5 square kilometres (0.97 sq mi)[14] mostly in the form of three waterbodies[15] 5–15 centimetres (2.0–5.9 in) deep.[16] The largest of these, Laguna del Huasco[5] or Laguna Grande, borders the salar on its western and southern side.[12] Numerous springs surround the salar and form wetlands and water-filled ponds.[12] Some waterbodies are filled with saltwater, others with fresh water.[5] The lowest altitude of the salar is about 3,770 metres (12,370 ft).[8] Two flat plains border it to the north and east, respectively: The Pampa Sillillica and the Pampa Rinconada.[17]

In prehistorical times, a large lake formed at Salar del Huasco[18] and left tufa deposits[19] and shorelines around the basin.[20] A wave-cut terrace lies about 30 metres (98 ft) elevation above the salar.[19] People visited the lake during the high water level stage.[21] When it evaporated, it left the salts now in Salar del Huasco.[11]

Geology and watershed

The watershed of Salar de Huasco lies in the Altiplano and Andes, covering an area of about 1,500 square kilometres (580 sq mi).[6] It is surrounded by mountain chains with volcanoes, except to the west and south where the Altos de Pica highland delimits the basin. A valley runs north-south in the basin; the Collacagua river runs along its length and Salar del Huasco lies at its southern end. The basin probably formed in the Tertiary through tectonic processes, and was initially open to the east until volcanic activity at the beginning of the Quaternary closed it there. Volcanic rocks and sediments formed by the erosion of volcanic rocks and older outcrops filled the basin, which was affected by faulting.[22] Three separate aquifers have formed in the basin fill,[23] and are hydrologically connected both to the Collacagua River and the Salar del Huasco. These aquifers are an important water source to Salar del Huasco, helping it to maintain an open water surface,[14] and assuming lack of human interference would buffer the impacts of climate change on the salar.[24] There may be connections between these aquifers and these of Pica west of Salar del Huasco.[25]

The Collacagua River enters Salar del Huasco on its northern shore;[10] it is the principal watercourse of the region[26] and one of the few to permanently carry water,[27] but its waters do not reach the salar directly except during floods.[28] It is about 43 kilometres (27 mi) long and forms through the union of the easterly Piga and the northern Caquina rivers, far north from Salar del Huasco.[29] Otherwise, clockwise from north to south the Quebrada Huallacaibo, Quebrada Rinconada, Quebrada del Corregidor, Quebrada de Huasco and Quebrada Parilca and several nameless creeks join the salar.[30] Salar del Huasco is the principal source of water for the area.[16]

Climate, flora and fauna

The salar area has a cold desert climate[9] with a mean annual temperature not exceeding 5 °C (41 °F). Strong temperature variations between day and night, when temperatures can descend below −20 °C (−4 °F)[23] and frost develops around waterbodies.[20] Most precipitation falls during the (southern) summer months[10] when moist air arrives from the Atlantic Ocean via the Amazon.[31] Precipitation varies strongly between years, due to climate oscillations like the El Niño-Southern Oscillation;[32] at Collacagua, mean annual precipitation between 1961 and 2000 reached 134 millimetres (5.3 in)[33] but in the salar area itself it is likely less than 100 millimetres (3.9 in) per year.[34] The air is thin, insolation is high and strong winds blow.[35]

The vegetation consists of a high-elevation steppe[23] and includes several endemic and globally important species, like Polylepis tarapacana and the yareta.[36] Several plant communities are found, including bofedales wetlands with Oxychloe andina and Zameioscirpus atacamensis and salt meadows with Carex misera.[37] Mammals include Andean foxes, llamas, tuco-tucos, vicuñas[36] and vizcachas. Other animals are Trichomycterus and Orestias fishes, the Peru water frog and Liolaemus lizards.[38]

Noted birds at Salar del Huasco include Andean avocets, Andean condors, Andean flamingos, Andean goose, Andean gulls, Andean lapwings, Andean negritos, Baird's sandpipers, black-crowned night herons, buff-winged cinclodes, Chilean flamingo, crested ducks, giant coots, James's flamingo, least seedsnipes, lesser yellowlegs, nandus, nuthatchers, Puna plovers, Puna teal, puna tinamous, silvery grebes, Wilson's phalaropes, yellow-billed pintail and yellow-billed teals.[39][6][36] There are more than three thousand flamingos at Salar del Huasco,[40] which is their nesting site.[16] Salar del Huasco is a major stopover for bird migrations[6][41] of American golden plovers, Baird's sandpipers, lesser yellowlegs and peregrine falcons.[36]

The ecosystem at Salar del Huasco is very diverse[42] and is used as a stand-in for other Chilean salar ecosystems.[43] Both the flora and fauna include numerous endemics and some species may yet be discovered. Other species are threatened species.[36] Humans hunt waterbirds, and overgrazing has occurred in the area, but overall human impact on Salar del Huasco's land ecosystem is small.[4]

Microbial ecosystems

Microbial communities are dominated by bacteria[44] if viruses aren't counted,[45] with a number of unidentified genera.[46] Environmental conditions are extreme, with the lack of water, harsh climate, high insolation, intense wind-driven mixing, lack of oxygen at high elevations and plenty of toxic arsenic,[44][47] and the genomes of microbes found at Salar del Huasco show evidence of adaptations.[48] Various metabolic pathways have been identified in microbes from Salar del Huasco, with different prevalences at different parts of the salar.[49] Some bacteria form microbial mats.[44] Salar del Huasco is the type locality of the choanoflagellate Salpingoeca huasca.[50]

Human exploitation and conservation

Numerous archeological sites are found around the salar. They go back to the last ice age, when the lake was larger and its environment drew hunter-gatherers to Salar del Huasco.[51] Animal corrals and trails have been mapped around Salar del Huasco.[52] The copper mining industry of northern Chile requires water, and a mining company draws it from Salar del Huasco.[6] Tourists visit Salar del Huasco for its animal life and the spectacular environment.[4]

The salar is well preserved[15] and the Chilean government has identified Huasco as an important environmental site;[41] in 1996 it was declared a Ramsar site and fourteen[53] or twenty-four years later a national park.[16] Numerous national organizations are involved in managing the site.[54]

References

  1. ^ "Salar del Huasco". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b "The Annotated Ramsar List: Chile". Ramsar. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  3. ^ Stoertz, George E.; Ericksen, George Edward (1974). "Geology of salars in Northern Chile". Professional Paper. doi:10.3133/pp811. ISSN 2330-7102.
  4. ^ a b c Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo & Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo 2002, p. 10.
  5. ^ a b c Sielfeld et al. 1996, p. 18.
  6. ^ a b c d e Acosta & Custodio 2008, p. 34.
  7. ^ Muñoz 2009, p. 3.
  8. ^ a b Muñoz 2009, p. 5.
  9. ^ a b Blin et al. 2022, p. 4.
  10. ^ a b c Acosta & Custodio 2008, p. 36.
  11. ^ a b Garcés Millas & López Julián 2013, p. 110.
  12. ^ a b c Muñoz 2009, p. 68.
  13. ^ Farías 2020, p. 124.
  14. ^ a b Acosta & Custodio 2008, p. 39.
  15. ^ a b Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo & Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo 2002, p. 7.
  16. ^ a b c d Blin et al. 2022, p. 3.
  17. ^ Muñoz 2009, p. 23.
  18. ^ Muñoz 2009, p. 60.
  19. ^ a b Brüggen 1929, p. 5.
  20. ^ a b Bowman 1924, p. 25.
  21. ^ Bowman 1909, p. 272.
  22. ^ Acosta & Custodio 2008, p. 35.
  23. ^ a b c Acosta & Custodio 2008, p. 37.
  24. ^ Blin et al. 2022, p. 16.
  25. ^ Uribe et al. 2015, p. 1539.
  26. ^ Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo & Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo 2002, p. 8.
  27. ^ Muñoz 2009, p. 61.
  28. ^ Uribe et al. 2015, p. 1538.
  29. ^ Muñoz 2009, p. 65.
  30. ^ Muñoz 2009, p. 64.
  31. ^ Acosta & Custodio 2008, p. 42.
  32. ^ Uribe et al. 2015, p. 1537.
  33. ^ Acosta & Custodio 2008, pp. 36, 37.
  34. ^ Muñoz 2009, p. 128.
  35. ^ Muñoz 2009, p. 94.
  36. ^ a b c d e Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo & Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo 2002, p. 9.
  37. ^ Morales Peillard 2011, p. 10.
  38. ^ Morales Peillard 2011, p. 13.
  39. ^ Sielfeld et al. 1996, pp. 20, 22.
  40. ^ Sielfeld et al. 1996, p. 22.
  41. ^ a b Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo & Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo 2002, p. 5.
  42. ^ Castro-Severyn et al. 2021, p. 16.
  43. ^ Farías 2020, p. 123.
  44. ^ a b c Farías 2020, p. 125.
  45. ^ Farías 2020, p. 129.
  46. ^ Castro-Severyn et al. 2021, p. 12.
  47. ^ Castro-Severyn et al. 2021, p. 2.
  48. ^ Farías 2020, pp. 131–132.
  49. ^ Castro-Severyn et al. 2021, p. 6.
  50. ^ Farías 2020, p. 130.
  51. ^ Morales Peillard 2011, p. 14.
  52. ^ Bowman 1909, p. 273.
  53. ^ Uribe et al. 2015, p. 1536.
  54. ^ Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo & Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo 2002, p. 11.

Sources


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