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Salar de Atacama - Atacama Salt Flats
(half day - afternoon/sunset recommended)
The Salar de Atacama is located 2,305 meters above sea level. Within the Salar, or Atacama salt-flats, there are two sections of the Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos: Soncor (5,016 ha), located 61 km south of San Pedro, and Quelana (4,135 ha), a further 10 km south along the same route. Both sectors are administered by the local Atacameño town of Toconao, located 24 km from the site, in association with CONAF. The two Salar sections of Soncor and Quelana represent important habitat areas of shallow lagoons and saline crust with saline saturated slime and mud.
The salt-flats encompass approximately 3,000 km² - over 85 km long (north to south) and an average width of 35 km (up to 50 km at their widest). The largest salt field in Chile, it is America's second largest, after Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia (10,582 km²).
Rainfall and snow melt-water in the Andes highlands flows underground, emerging in the western foothills as a series of streams and carrying large amounts of dissolved volcanic salts (sodium chloride, carbonates & sulphates) into the eastern depression basin of the Salar de Atacama. More than 96% of the water reaching the salt flats evaporates, and the remaining 4% turns to a highly brine solution due to high concentrations of salt that results. It contains 27% of the world's lithium reserves.
Of the 156,200 ha of the Atamaca salt basin, this is the only substantial area which can be classified as wetland (the area was designated a wetland of international importance under the RAMSAR convention in 1996), with approximately 280 ha of surface water. The Soncor basin is formed by four shallow lakes, no more than 1.5 metres deep, interconnected on the surface and underground. The lakes lie on a layer of crust formed by the constant accumulation of chloride and sulphur crystals produced by a high rate of evaporation in the salt lake. Depending on the types of salts, the sediments in these waters range in colour from white, yellow and pink to brown and black. The lakes are hosts to micro-fauna and micro-algae - a source of food for important species of migratory birdlife, especially flamingos.
The salar crust can vary from several centimetres to approximately 60 metres in depth. There are three types of crust in this sector: crusts of chlorides with an intensely broken hard cover (as seen at Chaxa), sulphate crusts formed primarily of chalk, producing smooth and dry surfaces, and crusts of chlorides and sulphates formed by chlorides (halite) and chalk, in which the chalk is powdery.
The topography of the core portion of the salar exhibits a high level of roughness, which is due to that the surface of this area is permanently free of water, unlike the most of the other salt flats, as for example the Salar de Uyuni, which is periodically flooded with shallow water.
Chaxa Lagoon, Soncor Sector
The main lagoons of the Soncor sector are named 'Puilar', 'Chaxas' and 'Barros Negros', and at Quelana, the 'Burros Muertos' lagoon. The main visitor reception and centre is located at Chaxa lagoon. Most guided tours visit the Soncor sector, which is more developed with facilities, with over 10,000 visitors per year.
The Soncor Trail is 4 to 5 kilometres in total, and it takes about 2 to 3 hours to walk, although there are view points accessible only a short distance from the entry point and modern Visitor and Information Centre, giving views of the lagoons and flamingos feeding and resting. We recommend timing this tour for the late afternoon and sunset.
Toconao Village
On the way to Salar de Atacama there is the opportunity to visit the town of Toconao. The oasis is known for its characteristic Campanario de San Lucas (San Lucas belfry or bell tower), built in 1750 and its separate iglesia (church) dating from 1744, on the opposite side of the street to each other.
See San Pedro Cultural History section for more information on Toconao.
Tambillo Sector
There is also the opportunity to see the Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos sector of Tambillo, noted for its plantation of tamarugo woodland (Prosopis tamarugo), a vulnerable a characteristic tree of the Tarapacá (I) Region of Chile, planted as fodder and shade for domestic animals in the 1970s but of which only a small section survived, being able to utilise saline underground water.
Lagunas Cejas
The Lagunas Cejas are a collection of three small lagoons in the Salar, 18 km from San Pedro. One of the lagoons is permitted for swimming - it apparently has a 40% concentration of salt, producing an effect of floating greater than the Dead Sea (which has a salinity of 33.7%). Accessabe by bike or vehicle tour, mornings recommended.
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