Salvador Dalí Desert (), also known as Dalí Valley (Valle de Dalí), is a desert within the borders of the

Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve The Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve (''Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa''; Spanish acronym: REA) is located in Sur Lípez Province. Situated in the far southwestern region of Bolivia, it is the country's most visited ...

, located in the southwestern region of the

Potosí Department Potosí (; Southern Quechua, Quechua: ''P'utuqsi''; Aymara language, Aymara: ''Putusi'') is a Departments of Bolivia, department in southwestern Bolivia. Its area is 118,218 km2 and its population is 856,419 (2024 census). The capital is the ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. It has an average altitude of 4,750 meters above sea level and an area of approximately 110 km² (42 sq mi). The desert is situated in an extremely barren valley and stands out for its unique landscape in which many isolated rock formations created by wind erosion alternate along the arid and desolate plain, giving the landscape a unique character that closely resemble the surrealist paintings by

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

. The geothermal and volcanic activity in the area, the salt flats, lagoons,

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

, and rock formations of various mineral soils all contribute to the unique landscape and color palette of the desert, recreating abstract shapes and a surreal aspect, similar to the paintings of the famous Catalan artist, whom the desert is named for. Among the isolated rock formations in the desert, the most prominent one is the

Árbol de Piedra Árbol de Piedra ("stone tree") is an isolated ventifact rock formation in the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve of Sur Lípez Province, Bolivia. Much photographed, it projects out of the altiplano sand dunes of Siloli in the Potosí ...

(Spanish for Stone Tree). It is a 7-meter-high volcanic rock carved through wind erosion carrying sand for centuries, giving it a tree-like appearance with a narrow stem and a wide crown at the top. It is the most visited natural object in the desert and is widely photographed.

References

Deserts of Bolivia Geography of Potosí Department Salvador Dalí {{Potosí-geo-stub