Talampaya National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Talampaya) is a
national park located in the east/centre of
La Rioja Province,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. It was designated a provincial reserve in 1975, a national park in 1997, and a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2000.
Location
The park protects an area of the
High Monte
The High Monte is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Argentina.
Geography
The High Monte is located on the eastern slopes of the Andes, extending from the vicinity of Salta (24º S) south to Mendoza (32º S). It is a landscape of m ...
ecoregion.
The park covers an area of , at an altitude of
above mean sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''.
Th ...
. Its purpose is to protect important archaeological and palaeontological sites found in the area. It has landscapes of great beauty, with flora and fauna typical of the mountain
biome
A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
.
The park is in a basin between the Cerro Los Colorados to the west and the Sierra de Sañagasta to the east. The landscape is the result of
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...
by water and wind in a
desert climate, with large ranges in temperature - high heat by day and low temperature at night, with torrential rain in summer and strong wind in spring.
Features
The park includes:
*The dry bed of the
Talampaya River
Talampaya National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Talampaya) is a national park located in the east/centre of La Rioja Province, Argentina. It was designated a provincial reserve in 1975, a national park in 1997, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in ...
, where
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
s lived millions of years ago - fossils, whilst not as interesting as
Ischigualasto, have been found here;
*The Talampaya
gorge and its rock formations with walls of the
Talampaya Formation of up to high, narrowing to at one point;
*The remains of indigenous peoples' settlements, such as the
petroglyphs of the
Puerta del Cañón
The gates of Intramuros refer to the original eight gates of the Walled City of Intramuros in Manila, built during the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines. The gates are called by the original Spanish word for "gate", ''puerta'' (plural: ''pu ...
;
*A botanical garden of the local flora at the narrow point of the canyon;
*Regional fauna, including
guanaco
The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations.
Etymology
The guanaco ...
s,
hares,
maras,
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
es and
condor
Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.
They are:
* The Andean condor (''Vu ...
s.
Gallery
Image:800px-Talampaya 1.jpg, Parque Nacional de Talampaya
Image:Talampaya.jpg, Talampaya canyon entrance
Image:Talampaya_petroglyphs.jpg, Petroglyphs
Image:TALMLR.jpg, Parque Nacional Talampaya
Image:Talampaya National Park.jpg, Tour buses at the park
Image:Rhea at Talampaya National Park.jpg, Rhea
Image:The wall at Talampaya National Park.jpg, The wall
References
External links
Official park website
{{authority control
Archaeological sites in Argentina
National parks of Argentina
World Heritage Sites in Argentina
Protected areas of La Rioja Province, Argentina
Protected areas established in 1997
High Monte
