Talampaya National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Talampaya) is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

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 List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. 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 List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 d ...

by water and wind in a

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

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 2 ...

, 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 A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

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 guanacos,

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The g ...

mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Animals *Mara (mammal), a species of the cavy family *Mara the Lioness, in the movie ''Born Free'' Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials *Mara, ...

s, foxes and condors.

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